


I won't let the bed bugs bite

by suomikan



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, EVERYONE GETS A CUTE INTERACTION!!, Gen, Magic, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Oh look it's Knight Killers, ages are going to be all over the place-I'm sorry, deaged first years, everyone is going to make an appearance so I might add tags as this updates, fluff with plot, knights-centric but the other units will get a chance to shine, lots of Izumi carrying Tsukasa and feeding him sweets, save me ;w;, what a lame name..., you get a cute interaction and you get a cute interaction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2018-11-19 02:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11303766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suomikan/pseuds/suomikan
Summary: It all started when his king showed up at his door with a small bundle of red.“I’m no good with children… Protect him for me instead.”An AU where Izumi trades in his sword for a peaceful retirement, but Leo always finds something to keep him busy. Or, Izumi protects his little charge from various rogues, monsters and bugs all while taking the role of his mother.





	1. First Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning I just wanted to deage the first years and make the second/third years take care of them, but it kinda turned out longer then I expected, and then inspiration~ struck me (+plot) and it evolved into what you see here... owo*
> 
> Shoutout to my beta for helping!  
> It's my first time writing in a really long time so I hope you enjoy it~
> 
> edit: So I went back through these first 2 chapters to add/fix a few things since the flow didn't really match what I had in mind...nothing big or important so you may carry on owo

“What is this?”

Izumi glanced down at the bright red blanket in his king’s arms and wondered what in the world happened since he left the castle.

“Ahahaha, are you surprised~☆? You’re surprised aren’t you Sena!?” Leo jostled the bundle playfully.

“Of course you’ll be– for the ruler of your kingdom to show up at your doorstep on a cold rainy night I’d probably look like you too, wahaha~☆!”

He looked up and down incredulously at the droopy wet hood doing a poor job of covering Leo’s bright orange hair, his muddy black boots on his floor and the crudely wrapped bundle in his arms. This stupid king…

Izumi was a Knight- keyword here, _was_. Exhausted after years of divide and conquer he asked his king to let him lay down his sword and live a quiet, peaceful life away from the castle. Leo was strong, and there was nothing they could think of that would threaten the peace of the kingdom they built up together. So Izumi was confident with his decision to retire and Leo agreed with the promise that both of them would drop in every now and then for a visit. Only when they felt trouble was brewing would Izumi one day return to Leo’s side at the throne indefinitely.

It had only been a couple months but apparently that day came a bit too soon.

 

This was _so_ annoying.

Pushing any overdramatic magical and blood-stained scenarios out of his head Izumi tried to come up with some kind of logical reason why Leo was at his door with a baby.

Luckily his king didn’t look like he was in any hurry or had any visible wounds. Aside from the soaking wet cloak that left puddles all over his floor he actually had the nerve to start humming some happy tune he made up on the spot. So it wasn’t like he _stole_ the child from somewhere - much less found and picked him up in the forest. Thank goodness, he had enough of strange creatures and spells.

That also meant a stork was way out of the question.

After all there was no way Leo could’ve gotten anyone pregnant, especially in the last year to sire a child this age – that was a thought he really didn’t want to have. No battlefield curried a peaceful night, especially one so pleasurable. A cousin maybe? Nephew? No. His king did not have any immediate relatives that came to mind and most certainly would not let anyone touch his younger sister when she’s still at a tender age.

He looked back down at the bundle scared that those thin, but strong arms might drop the baby if he kept jumping around too excitedly. The baby looked around a couple months old, male and had round cheeks that were adorably pudgy.

Izumi raised an eyebrow when he saw his hair though. That was a real wild card.

From what crystal blue eyes could see underneath the blanket he had a small face and an adorable nose that was almost exactly like his kings. But his hair, a bright apple red threw him for a loop.

He was also fast asleep but even if he had any hint of emerald in his eyes there was still not enough evidence for him to figure out who the child Leo held in his arms was.

“His name is Suo~” Leo said, gesturing towards the baby as if he was reading his mind, “I don’t really remember the rest-but it’s not that important anyways~”

Leo tilted his head to the side, a few orange strands of hair falling over his face. “A town near the border was attacked recently, so I sent Naru earlier and he brought this little cutie back. It really caught us off guard! I was so surprised Sena! You wouldn’t believe how determined Naru looked when he held him and asked if we could take care of him.”

Guess he wasn’t _too_ wrong about the stork then…

“Suou…?” Izumi muttered, running through a list of all the names, nobles, mages, and other distinguished court figures he could remember only to come up empty. “I don’t think I can recall anyone in the kingdom with that name…” his face darkened, “Ousama, you better not have picked any fights with Tenshoui-”

“Oh no, don’t worry! No worries~! My sword had no business with Tenshi at the border. I haven’t even seen that guy in weeks! My inspiration can come up with an explanation for this Sena-give me a few minutes… nnnnnn-nah! I can almost see it~! ”

“That doesn’t make the situation any better,” the former, or he guessed _now_ former Knight rubbed his face tiredly. Leo was humming a rare, soothing tune now. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet calmly. If he didn’t know any better he knew it was to keep the baby asleep. “This better not have anything to do with your _other_ hobby then. The last time you did something crazy I had to bend over backwards and cartwheel to cover up for your stupid mistakes! I still have the broken cart in the back to prove it!”

“Ahh!” Leo’s eyes almost looked frantic. “My inspiration, it’s leaving me!! Come back my merry men, my arrow has yet to pierce the barrel!! How can I drink if my comrades aren’t here to make merry!?”

Ignoring his over-dramatic performance Izumi looked desperately up at the ceiling, closed his eyes and took deep breaths until Leo finally quieted down. He opened them again to see a surprisingly serious look on his king’s face.

“Sena, please. I have no one else I can trust to do this for me.”

He frowned. “So what you’re telling me is that he’s going to be my charge? I can thrust a sword any direction and take down any foe you want, that’s _easy_ , but what makes you think I can raise a child, much less an infant?”

“You’ve always acted like a mother for as long as I’ve known you,” Leo sighed and gave him a sad smile, “I’m no good with children-it won’t be a gentle upbringing. He’s going to grow up without knowing what it’s like to be spoiled and I want him to at least have that when he has no family to take care of him.”

He shifted uncomfortably, trying to keep the wet fabric of his cloak from touching the baby. “I can’t even live with the thought of putting him in an orphanage. Protect him for me Sena, pick up your sword, we don’t know what future awaits him.”

Izumi felt his heart clench. This stupid king always knew what to say to strum his heartstrings and it irritated him. Clenching his fingers together blue eyes looked nervously over to the sword he had mounted on the wall. Gold and navy enamel tempting him to grasp it again.

He honestly still had no idea how he was going to take care of a baby.

“You make it sound like we’re going into battle again…”

Izumi once took care of someone younger then him back when the kingdom was still a fledgling dream – the end results weren’t very pretty and the aftereffects still haunted him to this day. But he wasn’t going to let that bother him and make him tell Leo to send the child back. Even if he was once known for his cold-heartedness he wouldn’t dare dream of leaving a child, much less an infant for dead. Especially when they were in prosperous times now. If all he had to do was pick up his blade again maybe he could find the strength to be a guardian as well.

After a few minutes of silence between them, Izumi motioned for Leo to carefully hand over the baby. Holding him close to observe him better he found himself losing the mask he carefully crafted and smiled fondly at little snores coming from the sleeping infant. How cute.

Bare hands fixed the blanket; rewrapping it carefully considering how sloppy it was before. How long has it been since he held someone so small? Fragile and ignorant to the world they lived in. Having the little red head nestled close in his arms almost naively made him think maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

He looked up when he heard the tiny snickers of Leo who made himself comfortable on a chair.

“See~ See~! A soft expression really does suit you better Sena~ I always knew you’d make a good mom,” he grinned cheekily. “You’re always so frowny and uptight, let me be his dad~♪”

Izumi scrunched his nose distastefully, “Haah? You can be his older brother _maaaybe_ if you’re lucky. If you want to be his dad the least you can do is find out his full name for me, stupid ousama...”

“Ah, stingy! You’re the stupid one Sena. You poop! Dummy!”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who can’t even remember his own name you oaf!”

Leo puffed his cheeks out childishly. If he thought Izumi was going to pity him he was dead wrong.

“Hmph, I got it-I got it, I’ll just get Rittsu to find out for me if it’s that important,” he flung his cloak over his shoulders sloppily, gold tassels almost slapping him in the face. “I’ll be back tomorrow with things that should help you with Suo~ Let me know if you need anything else.”

Silver eyebrows furrowed, “Wait, you mean you don’t need me to go back to the castle to take care of him?”

Leo tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Mmmm, I don’t know…our agreement was that you’d come back whenever one of us thinks the kingdom is in trouble. I don’t think a baby's quite that level yet.”

He crossed his arms grumpily, “Living in the castle is lonely you know Sena, you stupid, _stupid_ knight, at least come visit me sometimes you big dummy… But I feel raising Suo~ here might be better than the castle. It’s quieter and safe, plus when I come over my inspiration can roam free!”

The little king shot up from his chair almost knocking over the table Izumi was leaning on. The knight was about to yell at him before he felt the bundle move and refrained, relieved the baby's eyes stayed shut. “He’ll have encounters with people others could only dream of~! I don’t want him to have to grow up with any harsh politics or warfare like we did. I want him to stay naïve and innocent, to keep that childish view on the world pure and dream! Is that too much to ask?”

Hands twirled a cord from his jacket before he looked up at the knight and smirked, showing off a cute little fang while he was at it. “But you’ll still probably train him up with the sword huh~? ♪”

Izumi shrugged, “Or I could just teach him how to play chess and talk back to you.”

“Wahaha, that would be something to look forward to, a mini Sena would be so cute~☆!” Leo clutched his stomach laughing. He wiped a small tear from his eye giggling, “but having two of you would be too much.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you,” Izumi rolled his eyes before he gestured towards the door, “Goodnight ousama, I’ll see you tomorrow when you’re done with whatever.”

“Yup~ Bye Sena~,” Leo grinned. He skipped to the doorway, nose pink already from the cold outside. “Take care of Suo~ for me~♪!!”

“I already am you stupid king, don’t make me stab a lion tonight.”

“Wahahaha, then keep your sword sharp Knight~☆”

Once Leo hopped on his horse and rode back to the castle Izumi looked back down at the precious little bundle in his arms, pleasantly surprised the baby still didn’t wake up after all that noise.

“Don’t worry Suou-kun nobody’s going to be able to hurt you. Not when your _oniichan’s_ here~♪”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have about 2 more chapters already written, but I'm not going to be updating this as much as I'd like. Comments/feedback would be appreciated!! See you next time, baaaaaaaiiiiii~


	2. Third times the Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking care of a baby is a lot harder then Izumi thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, I'm glad you guys liked the first chapter, as a thank you here is the second~ (on another note have you all seen Tsukasa's 5☆!? His suspenders--! Oh my gawd he's so cute!!)
> 
> So this one I might've gotten carried away with some things but if it confuses you it goes back and forth between past and present a lot owo* 
> 
> Also lots of Izumi POV. (Beta: haha rip tsu-chan) Enjoy~

He was going to kill Ousama for this…

Sena Izumi had all the makings of a perfect Knight. Expert with a sword, graceful in battle, he was proud, strong and most importantly, loyal. But even with his natural talent there was nowhere, absolutely _nowhere_ in his training a lesson on how to take care of a crying baby for the next ten to fifteen years, much less for even a couple of months. Weren’t knights supposed to be able to stop even a crying child with a wave of their hand or something like that…?

Tsukasa (which he finally learned his name after barraging Leo a few more times) was cute when Izumi first held him in his arms that night, quietly sleeping without a care in the world. Izumi actually had the naïve idea that it might not be as bad as he thought. But it’s been awhile since then and babies tend to wake up, and when they do it’s either because they’re hungry, they soiled themselves or both. Plus it always, _always_ came with the crying.

And the crying was getting _so_ annoying.

“Agh, what’s the matter this time?”

He picked the baby up from the nest of blankets he made and brought him close to his chest.

 

It was strange at first, Tsukasa would cry so easily and the silver haired knight had the hardest time figuring out why. Learning to feed and change his ‘diapers’ was easy. But once he saw a butterfly land on Tsukasa’s nose and the little red head started bawling his lungs out. It took him two hours, a bottle of milk and almost a spoonful of strawberry jam just to calm him down.

Apparently Suou Tsukasa did not like bugs.

Leo was no help either. Whenever he came over to visit them he always somehow managed to make the poor baby cry even more. The orange haired king liked to show him ‘cool’ beetles and fireflies he caught in jars and it made Izumi almost want to tear his own hair out…almost. It was when Leo realized what he was doing only made it worse and started singing to the little red head they learned music was amusingly the best way to calm Tsukasa down. A plus since Izumi didn’t have to make so much jam anymore.

“Sena’s voice has gotten so pretty~♪” Leo said one day, waving the fifth sheet of music in front of Izumi's face before dropping it and continued scribbling, “When we were little you couldn’t even hold a note-ah, even Suo~ agrees!! He’s a lot better right?”

“You’re so annoying. I didn’t have the luxury to practice singing back then. Also, if you’re going to keep coming over at least do something useful and help me feed him or something.” He rolled up his sleeves, glancing over the song Leo wrote. It was slightly longer then his usual compositions, a ballad maybe? “Ugghhh, don’t just write all over my table!”

“Aaa~♪!!”

“Oh, Suo~♪!! Do you want to sing too? You’re so cute~ Hold on. Wait for it. My inspiration can write a song even a baby can sing along to~☆ Keep at it! Hold the note out like that, you’re doing great~! ♪”

Watching the two Izumi couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Even though Leo said he wasn’t good with kids, for some reason children of all ages seemed to love his King.

Well… the orange haired man was pretty much a giant kid who could walk and talk. It was probably one of the reasons why Tsukasa had some kind of strange fascination with him – maybe they were both on the same wavelength or something. The only difference was that Leo knew how to hold a pointy stick and skillfully hit all his targets with a bow; Tsukasa could barely even sit up straight.

 

Finishing one song Tsukasa’s crying turned into little hiccups. Izumi continued to cradle him comfortingly, settling on humming a few bars from his king’s most recent ‘masterpieces’ instead.

 

“Do you like it Sena? Look! Suo~ is looking at me with such good eyes.” Emerald eyes looked fondly into the baby’s large purple ones, “That’s good, that’s great~! Maybe I could even bring Rittsu and Naru for you to meet next time~☆!”

“Ousama, if you let that vampire anywhere near him I swear upon _god_ I will do so much more then run my sword through you…”

“Oh, was that a threat? Sena wouldn’t do that!! Looksie looksie, Suo~ likes me too much to see me die right~♪”

 

It confused Izumi in the beginning when he tried to think of reasons why Leo decided to trust him with Tsukasa. There were a handful of people other than himself that Leo could have chosen instead of him, some were actually pretty willing candidates. He knew Kuma-kun was out of the question since he’d probably use the baby as a food source or something, but from what he heard Arashi would have been ecstatic at the thought of taking care of his little purple eyed charge since he was more interested in those kind of motherly things.

But then he remembered something about birds pushing their young out of trees and immediately scrapped that idea.

Glassy amethyst eyes, lashes slightly damp with tears met crystal blue and Izumi went back to focusing on the baby, trying not to melt at the sad look Tsukasa was giving him.

“ _As if…beckoning me to come closer…_ ”

Now that he thought about it, he was right when he thought the baby had no relation to his king a couple months ago. But strangely enough he did see Tsukasa act like Leo sometimes. Actually, forget about _just_ liking him, the cheeky smiles and bright eyes whenever he found something interesting were unmistakably Leo’s. He sometimes even caught the infant staring curiously at the bow and arrow near the door whenever Leo visited.

“ _Ah, staying pure as you are…_ ”

Whatever the case it had been hard, but there were at least some things he was doing right now that things have started falling into place.

He knew he could be overbearing sometimes, Izumi unfortunately learned that the hard way and he most definitely didn’t want to make the same mistake a third time. But no matter how much he tried to distance himself holding Tsukasa seemed to always make him forget those incidents ever happened and he probably knew the reason why. He was cute and small, full of endless curiosity and loved to be held close. Izumi thought he would never be able to indulge in smothering someone again like this; maybe that was what they meant when they said his winter was melting into spring.

…and well-maybe he’ll let Ousama live for a couple more days.

 

* * *

 

Leo popped his head into the door tired but still running on adrenaline from sneaking out of the castle to visit Izumi’s home in the middle of the night. Tip-toeing into the bedroom, careful to not make a single noise he saw the two were fast asleep. Tsukasa curled up against Izumi who was holding him carefully.

Smoothing over the babies soft red hair, eyelids puffy – likely from crying earlier that night, green eyes looked over to the sleeping knight and smiled at the lack of dark circles.

“Guess you didn't need me here tonight huh Sena~” Leo quietly closed the door and dropped a stack of sheet music on the table before leaving the house.

“Good night my loyal knight, you too as well Suo~ Don’t let the bed bugs bite~♪”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoot~ Made it to the end! The third chapter hasn't been proofread yet so even though it's kinda done it might not be posted for a week now. On the bright side it's a lot longer but... the events started and I'm also a valkP so please be patient with me ;w;
> 
> Reading your comments make me smile, please leave one if you'd like~ See you all soooooonn~


	3. Visit to Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izumi decides he’ll take Tsukasa to town one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tanabata!! Hope everyone has been doing fine, the event's almost over so that means I'll have more time to write... err, at least for a little bit.
> 
> This was supposed to be shorter but it somehow got longer than the first two chapters combined, so I hope you take your time and enjoy it ;w; Writing some of this was a bit hard since I don't have much to work with when it comes to some character interactions (you'll see why) but I had fun with it~
> 
> Shoutout to my beta for dealing with my 1-in-the-morning writing, can't do it without yah ;3 Enjoy~

Once the storm settled down and the days were getting warmer Izumi decided he’d take Tsukasa to town with him.

They didn’t live far from the main castle gates, an hour’s ride at most (Leo’s request) so taking him out would be ideal now that he’s older. Izumi would occasionally still freak out if the little red head sneezed when a particularly cold draft went through their home but they eventually had to go further than the yard.

Thinking about it a bit more, kicked up dirt from horse drawn carriages and streets dense with shoppers probably wasn’t a good idea for his small charge, but it was important why he had to go this week. Izumi realized they ran out of sugar the other night when he tried to make a certain someone’s favorite treat – jam. So he figured since the stormy season was ending he could take Tsukasa with him to explore a little bit of the kingdom together. Plus Leo wasn’t here to babysit for him since he was too busy catching up on work he put off in the recent months he visited them.

Bundled tightly in a warm hand knitted scarf and a cute red cloak his king got for Tsukasa, the knight and his charge left their home on horseback.

 

Once Izumi made sure they were all secured on the saddle he happened to look to his left and sighed. He knew he shouldn’t have brought it, especially when Tsukasa was practically glued to his arms, but the embellished gold and navy handle sword that used to be mounted on the wall hung securely on Izumi’s belt, it was a gift from Leo and the other Knights when he left the castle. It still felt strange because he never thought he'd have to use it but as they continued moving he didn’t miss the big purple eyes that stared mesmerized at it.

“Maybe when you’re older I’ll show you swordplay some time,” Izumi whispered softly to Tsukasa who now looked curiously from the swinging object to the large stone arches they were approaching. “But for now let’s show you around town.”

When they passed through the gates, Izumi gave a short nod to the guards and began going through town. Even though it was still a bit chilly for a summer day it was still bright and busy.

Decorated with banners of silver and navy that reached across the entire marketplace, travelers could vaguely make out a chess pieces adorning them proudly. It was loud and people were everywhere, but there was still room for Izumi to gracefully maneuver his way through the crowd to get to the stables quickly. After paying the stable hands he skillfully dismounted his horse with Tsukasa still in his arms and he briskly made his way through the bustling crowd.

Meanwhile, the small red head could hardly believe all the things he was seeing! Colorful tents housed strangers with things he’s never seen before and there were all sorts of new smells and sounds. There were fruits Izumi occasionally fed him in different colors of the rainbow, fabrics with fancy patterns and embroidery like Leo’s clothes, shiny glass spun into beautiful shapes and flowers, and musicians who played loud gaudy music (still not quite as good as their king’s in Izumi's opinion though).

Izumi happened to glance down again as they passed a stall with dozens of books and saw bright sparkles reflecting in those purple eyes. Tsukasa even giggled when they ducked under some kite streamers that tickled his face as they crossed over a bridge.

“First things first Kasa-kun,” his voice barely reaching the baby’s ears, curious eyes directing their attention back to the Knight, “We need to go get sugar.”

The crowd was starting to thin as they got closer to the edge of the market, “We might have time to look around afterwards but it looks like it might rain today so we should hurry back if we want to get home before then.”

 

Finding the sugar stall was a little hard since it wasn’t very affordable for the common shopper, but luckily enough they found it in a large open area covered in shade and Izumi raised an eyebrow when he saw the lanky shopkeeper running it. After handing him a few coins the shopkeeper happily gave them the second to the last bag he had. Izumi worried his arms would snap when he held it out to him.

“We also have these cute little candies that the owner makes ‘imself,” the shopkeeper said when he saw the baby looking curiously around the stall. “They’re right over there if ya wanna see'em.”

Motioning towards the left he pointed to some pretty glass jars filled with shiny, round pieces of sugar, “They’re real popular with the little ones 'cause they kinda melt like snow. I like to eat‘m myself, but I get‘n trouble if I do it too much ehehehe…”

Izumi didn’t really bother with self-indulgent things like candies, usually they were for people with extra money to spend and he found no point in eating things that pretty much was pure sugar. He still moved over to the jars though, putting Tsukasa down to let him try to lean over the containers to see the candies for himself. It was a little funny when the little red head smooshed his face into the glass and he had to stop himself from grinning when he heard a frustrated huff come from him.

The knight glanced over the price and was pleasantly surprised the candies weren’t as expensive as he thought, plus there was no denying they looked a little delicious, especially when you were Tsukasa’s age. Actually, now that he got a closer look at them there were various different colors and some were also shaped like stars. How didn't they melt?

“The owner really likes makin’ 'em so we can sell lots for cheap~” dual colored eyes sparkled almost as bright as the jars, “He’s not here right now though, so ya can’t really ask him how he does it…”

Noticing Tsukasa start to get restless, feet shuffling and eyes looking longingly at the treats the dark haired shopkeeper bent over the jars and opened them, the sound of him scooping the candy resonated beautifully against the glass they were in. Thin fingers picked a small light blue star to hand over to the bubbly baby.

“Here ya go, it can be our little secret~” the silver haired Knight looked just as surprised when Tsukasa happily held the star in his hands admiring it.

“It’s a gift for helpin’ me and Oshi-san a few months ago,” blue eyes widened when the shopkeeper turned to smile up at Izumi. Dark lashes highlighted the bright sapphire and gold eyes he had in the sunlight. “Ya probably don’t recognize me but thank ya kindly for that~ I don’t think I remember ya havin' a small one to take care of though…”

“He’s actually someone the king pushed onto me recently,” Izumi brushed a few silver strands the wind blew out of his face. “But I do remember you. You’re Kagehira…Mika right? The kid Itsuki had with him at the border, glad to see you are doing fine.”

Izumi looked over to the baby who was practically glowing after eating a piece of candy. “Could I get a small bag of that as well, he’s going to be _so_ annoying for me later if I don’t get some for him now.”

“Nnn, no problem,” Mika grinned, getting up to grab a pretty, clear bag for the candies. He looked down at the hood Tsukasa had pulled over his head, noting the slightly mis-sized clothing and shoes. “Would ya need anythin’ else, from Oshi-san too I mean?”

“Not at the moment, we’re in a hurry so we’ll probably be back next week,” Izumi sighed, and picked up little red head, making sure he hid the bag of candy in the back pocket of his jacket. “Send my regards to that doll fanatic. We’ll drop by his store for Kasa-kun then.”

“Will do~ Oshi-san would be glad to know yer comin’~”

They finally left the stall, Tsukasa waving goodbye to the strange but friendly shopkeeper from Izumi’s shoulder.

He wondered who Mika’s ‘oshi-san’ was though and what they needed to come back for.

 

* * *

 

Passing other stalls Izumi decided he could cut through the middle of town to get back to the horse stables to load the sugar. But after getting held back a few times from vendors and other shoppers crowding the walkways his arm carrying the bag was starting to ache. Keeping hold of the baby playing with the chains on his jacket didn’t help either.

Adjusting the sugar, careful not to drop Tsukasa he found a way towards the fountain in the middle of town he knew he could sit and rest at. He would have liked to bring a cart now that he thought about it but the one he had was still broken and was sitting in the back of his home, curtesy of Leo of course. He sighed in relief when they finally made it to the plaza and dropped the bag on the floor, stretching his arms and shoulders contently.

He also put Tsukasa down; the baby was now sitting comfortably on the fountain, legs spread out and back slouched a little forward swaying a little. Purple eyes stared from the gold ribbons on Izumi’s coat to the water mesmerized by all the ripples and coins that shimmered at the bottom. The silver haired knight had to stop Tsukasa several times from getting too close to falling in.

There were a few bubbles he heard Tsukasa squeal at and tried to pop with his fingers but it was a splash that made the knight whip his head around violently in the baby’s direction.

Luckily all he heard was, “Puka~ Puka~” and, ‘Oh thank god it was only Kanata,’ ran through Izumi’s head.

Blue eyes found bright green peeking out from the water quietly, turquoise hair curly and wet except for the strand that seemed to stick out like an angler fish. His white sailor’s jacket was completely soaked, water seeping into the light blue shirt he wore underneath making Izumi shiver wondering how he wasn’t uncomfortable in it.

“Ehehehe, did I scare you Mister Knight? I am sorry~” Kanata’s head bobbed up and down in the fountain. “Chiaki told me it is no good to 'scare' people, but I could not help it when I saw you sitting here~ Long time no see, long time no see~”

He floated for a bit before looking towards the baby who stared in awe at him, “It has been awhile since we came to town and it seems like you have a little ‘guest’ with you.”

Tsukasa giggled at the little ‘bubble’ Kanata blew his way and stared curiously at the wet man in the fountain. “Hello, hello~ Would you like to ‘puka puka’ too~?”

Izumi let out a sigh of relief as the oddball floated more towards the edge of the fountain, half-lidded eyes meeting the baby’s.

“Oya~ Chiaki has one his age too, really ‘small’ and from really far, _far_ away...” He tilted his head towards the ocean. “The other two children are back near the sea with him. A shame you could not meet.”

“Its fine we live close by so it shouldn't be problem to meet up again,” Izumi looked up anxiously at a few dark clouds. He had to get home soon unless he wanted to risk them getting wet. Not that they wouldn’t when Kanata was here, but still… “If you’re here then Morisawa should be close right? Where is he?”

Kanata lifted his head from the water, shaking a few drops from his hair before shrugging, “‘Captain’ is out buying supplies for us. Food… water… clothes…” Green eye’s slowly moved over their surroundings and made note of the bag near Izumi’s foot. “Like how you went shopping too, but your arms look like they turned into ‘seaweed.’ Swaying, swaying~”

“The bag is pretty heavy when you only have one arm,” the knight grumbled. “Having this one playing with your sleeves doesn’t help either.”

“Hmm…do you want me to watch over the little one while you load your horse then? Mr. Ogre says I have been getting along better with children.”

“That's a kind offer but I don’t think I should…” Izumi wasn’t _too_ familiar with Kanata, but he heard enough stories from Chiaki to get a vague idea about him. Nothing bad, there were just a few small things that made Izumi wary of him. The fact that he went at his own pace was always a strange quirk when he fought with Morisawa on the battlefield. Was he always this thoughtful though? He couldn’t remember...

“I don’t remember you being the type to help out, why the change of heart?”

“Nnnn, I just feel like helping ‘Chiaki’s’ friends...” Kanata hummed and the water around him seemed to dance, it sparkled and shimmered where his legs were and Izumi politely looked away. “Usually children tend to look at me and think that I am a ‘monster,’ they are not really wrong though… But this one seems to be more curious then frightened. This whole time he has been staring at me. I am also very curious about him~ He is a good kid~.”

The sailor tilted his head towards the shopping district, “‘Chiaki’ should be back soon too, so even if you do not trust me Chiaki will make sure he stays safe~♪”

“Well, I shouldn’t be too long so I guess I can leave him with you. I can also trust Chia-kun to not let him fall into the fountain…” Izumi hesitated before standing up. His gloved hands reached behind him to pull out candy to pop into Tsukasa's mouth, “Kasa-kun listen up, oniichan’s going to go put this on the horse. Stay with the mermaid for now and I’ll be back soon.”

“Heeeeeeh, do not go around saying things like that,” Kanata puffed his cheeks up annoyed. “You will make my ‘cover’ slip.”

“You’re not making it any less obvious by staying in the fountain you know… How does Morisawa even deal with you?”

Izumi turned back around to see Tsukasa sucking on the candy happily, feeling lucky to get to eat a few more little stars today. He was being overprotective, but who wouldn’t be? Thinking more on it Tsukasa should be fine with the fish man since he really meant no harm to civilians. Plus it’ll be good for him to get acquainted with a few more ‘people’ before they surprised him at their door. Rubbing the baby’s head affectionately Izumi picked up the sugar and headed as fast as he could back to the stables.

“And then there were two~,” Tsukasa glanced back to the wet man in the fountain and tilted his head.

Kanata stared back at him before making a little ‘o’ with his mouth. “Are you curious about the ‘mermaid’ thing Mister Knight said? Fufufu, he is not completely wrong you know~♪”

Green eyes surveyed the area around them first, nodding happily when no one was eavesdropping on them. Humming a little tune the water in the fountain shimmered and glowed, almost as if a bubble popped around them a beautiful turquoise tail appeared where Kanata’s legs should have been. Fins translucent and tiny scales, like jewels, catching more light then the spun glass Tsukasa saw earlier today.

“I am actually a siren but the term ‘mermaid’ seems to be more popular here,” Kanata said, resting his head back on his arms. “Do not tell anyone okay? Chiaki wants to keep it a secret~ Like the dark ‘ocean’ floor~♪”

Violet eyes sparkled at the crystal clear drops of water that fell around them, Kanata’s tail swaying beautifully in the fountain. Who knew that people with fish tails even existed? He didn’t really know what the fish man said but Tsukasa vaguely remembered seeing something like him in books Izumi had lying around. To think a real one could be found in the town fountain so close to home was simply _marvelous_ ~!

Excited giggles from the red head were interrupted when a loud boisterous voice came from the marketplace.

“Kaaaannataaaa!! I got the fish- Oh whose this– a new friend? Hahaha! Where did you come from little one?”

“Chiaki~ Welcome back~ I am ‘babysitting’ right now~” Kanata hid his tail back in the water, Chiaki’s loud voice drawing the attention of people around them, “I saw Mister Knight just now and he had a bit of trouble. So I asked if I could ‘help’ him~ Eheheh, I am such a good boy~”

“Yes you are~!” Tsukasa watched the stranger drop all the things he had in his arms to run over to Kanata and hug him tightly. Ruffling his turquoise hair affectionately the man completely ignored the fact his own white sailors jacket was now soaking wet. “So he’s one of Tsukinaga’s then huh? Is he the messengers?”

“Mmmm no, not the bird's, he is ‘Mister’ Knight’s…” Kanata rubbed his cheek not too happy with the burn the excited man left lingering on his face, “Pretty sword, dark clothes, one of Chiaki’s ‘friends~’”

“Friends huh…? If it’s that then that probably would be Sena… Wait- you saw Sena!?” Bright brown eyes heatedly darted around the fountain, “Where is he? Ahhhh! I missed him didn’t I?”

Clearing his throat, the hero looked back over to his vice-captain, “No matter, he’ll probably come back soon. And when he does he’ll know that I, Morisawa Chiaki would be here to welcome him with open arms! Hahahahaha!”

“Hnnn, you are too loud ‘Chiaki,’ I do not want to chop you~”

“Sorry, sorry…” The excited man looked a little guilty before glancing back down to Tsukasa, “So you’re with Sena little one? I didn’t know he had any kids but that doesn’t matter~ I am Captain Morisawa Chiaki, Guardian of Justice! I lead the naval forces of this kingdom against evil with a burning heart!”

Chiaki picked up the baby and sat him in his lap, Tsukasa’s attempts to inch away from the over exuberant ‘hero’ ending in failure. “Oh what’s wrong? Do you miss Sena? I do too! He’s a little cold but he’s actually a good guy…errr, sometimes…”

“He was really polite today~” Kanata sung, “He was also busy, busy~”

“Not much has changed since he retired then.” Chiaki tapped his chin thoughtfully. “We used to have lots of fun competitions back in the day~ they always ended in a tie though…  A shame we couldn’t continue them, but a draw's usually the most peaceful conclusion!”

Tsukasa stopped squirming and looked up at the brown haired captain. So his caretaker had more friends than their king? Hearing such a kind tone come from someone other than Leo whenever Izumi was the topic made him feel a bit safer with Chiaki than he was before. The sea captain was also surprisingly warm now that he took the time to sit quietly on his lap. Listening to him recount stories of their strange competitions gave him a similar feeling to when Izumi sung to him. Did he just hear one about them trampling an eggplant field?

Chiaki eventually quieted down feeling contently nostalgic and glanced back to his vice-captain, sparkles dancing excitedly around him, “We were still out at sea when Tsukinaga sent that message about Sena leaving. But to think as soon as we land home he’s in town! Luck is on our side~”

“It is easy to get homesick~” Kanata hummed, used to the bright and energetic aura bouncing off the hero like shooting stars and smiled. “It is sad to be away from home, he could not have gone far.”

“That’s true!” Chiaki nodded his head in agreement. “After all, there are some things that can’t be replaced. Sena always liked responsibility so he must’ve set up somewhere near to make sure everything’s still okay. It’s just like a having a hero! No matter how calm the times get there always needs to be a protector of justice to keep us safe!”

“Eheheheh, I do not quite get it, but I think I know what you mean~” green eyes looked fondly at the naval captain, “It is like how I can not go too far from ‘Chiaki’s’ side~”

“Kanata…” Brown met the sirens sea green, warm flames flickering in his eyes. Chiaki smiled goofily, as bright as the sun ever could shine.

The moment broken by the feeling of soft pats on his chest, Chiaki was surprised to see the baby no longer trying to escape from him but was nudging him with tiny fists. Big purple eyes looking back and forth between him, lost in the conversation and felt left out.

“Hahaha, you’re a cheeky one aren’t you?” Firm hands lifted Tsukasa up, playfully jostling him, “You’ve listened to me ramble, and I thank you for being so patient – but now I have a question for you! Would you like to be a hero too?”

Tsukasa tilted his head at the question, a little restless because he didn’t like being lifted up high so suddenly. Honestly he couldn’t really understand what this man was asking, still processing all the stories he heard. So all he did was stare quietly into heated eyes and sneezed when a cold breeze blew by.

“Guess that’s a no huh? Heroes are great but they’re not the only ones who could protect justice. I guess maybe you’d want to be a knight then, like Sena?” Chiaki laughed, he paused and motioned for Tsukasa to look towards the sea. A sliver of blue and large white ‘clouds’ loomed near the horizon. “You kind of remind me of my kids back on my boat. Not all of them quite warmed up to me but they always look like their having so much fun~”

Kanata giggled, “That is because ‘Chiaki’ is too forceful with them. You make Midori cry a lot~”

“Ahh! That was only one time Kanata!”

Laughter could be heard before loud footsteps of a horse grew closer and came to a halt in front of the fountain. A frown plastered on Izumi’s face when he dismounted his percheron and saw Chiaki playing upsy-daisy with Tsukasa. “Hey Chia-kun, could you not lift my kid so high up? He looks like he’s going to be sick you know~”

“Sena!! It’s been awhile~,” Chiaki put the dizzy baby back down next to Kanata who, legs and all, was now sitting at the edge of the fountain dripping water all over the floor. “It’s been a while my friend!”

“Uwah, don’t hug me, don’t hug me! Why do you always have to do this whenever you see me, it’s not like I died you know.” Izumi squirmed trying to get out of the tight hold Chiaki had him in. “You’re making it too warm – it shouldn’t even be this hot today!”

The captain only laughed before he let the knight go, who was now grumbling at his damp clothes clinging to his front now. Oh, he was still a little wet from when he hugged Kanata earlier. Sorry Sena.

“How have you been? I heard you left his highness' service a while ago.”

“I wish I did, that pain in the butt still likes to keep throwing jobs at me to do and it’s getting  _so_ annoying.” Izumi scowled. He motioned to the baby who was now clapping hands with the siren in some kind of made up game. “I see you met Kasa-kun, he’s one of the more important jobs Ousama gave me.”

“He’s cute! Look at us, we both have kids now! Who would've thought~” Chiaki clapped his hand over the knights back looking over to Kanata who was now trying to fit his sailors hat over Tsukasa’s head without it falling over his face. “I’ll introduce you to mine later! Oh, Hakaze too, have you seen him recently? I just got back so you’re the first person I’ve met since we docked.”

“If I saw that guy he won’t be around for you to see anymore,” Izumi deadpanned.

The sea captain looked to the knight’s side and saw a finger twitching towards the pretty blue sword around his waist.

“No need for violence Sena, he means no harm… I think? Maybe I’ll see him on the way when I go report to Tsukinaga~”

“You go do that,” Izumi watched as Chiaki picked up his stuff that was still lying on the floor around them. “We need to get going soon, Kasa-kun finish up your game we’re going home.”

Tsukasa pinched his face grumpily at him in response.

“Don’t give me that, you had enough adventures for today.” The silver haired knight walked over to Kanata who happily handed the grumpy baby over to him. “We’re coming back again next week if you’re going to be like this, remember? I somehow promised Itsuki I would anyways.”

“Good kids need to go home, sleep and get bigger,” the siren hummed, reaching into a bag Izumi had no idea where he pulled out from and handed Tsukasa something small and squishy. “To celebrate our ‘meeting’ I will give you a ‘puffer fish’ stuffed animal~♪”

Izumi starred incredulously at the strange, spike ball-like thing the red head baby was now holding. It was obviously small compared to the Knight but it was about the size of the infants head. “What is that thing…?”

Chiaki shrugged and nudged his vice-captain in silent question. Kanata only hummed in response.

“I saw it when we were out at sea, the people on the other side told me ‘puffer fish’ are very ‘poisonous’ but a delicacy~ They are very ‘strong’ even though they are so tiny~♪”

The knight almost grabbed the toy fish and chucked it as far away from Tsukasa until he remembered it wasn’t the real thing.

“Don’t need to get so tense Sena, recently Kanata has been making a bunch of these things back on the boat and have been giving them to the kids to play with, he could have handed you a moray eel.”

“Saltwater fish’ make me happy so I am glad I can share them with everyone~♪”

“I’ll be going then…” Izumi nodded, still not looking too convinced, but as long as Tsukasa was happy he guessed it was okay. Mounting his horse with the baby in tow he turned towards the gate that led home. “Bye Chia-kun, Shinkai…”

“Bye-bye Mister Knight~” Kanata waved, helping Chiaki pick up the things he dropped earlier.” It was nice meeting you little one~♪”

“Yup, see you later Sena,” the brown haired man grinned at them, “Let’s hang out again!”

“Chiaki~ We need to see the king soon or we will be late~” the siren now held all the things the hero bought.

“You’re right! Let’s hurry and pack these up then.”

Izumi tilted his head confused at what they were talking about but still rode off to exit town leaving what the two sailors said for another day.

.

As they passed through the arch, gates far in the distance Tsukasa felt a small drop of water land on his nose and looked up. The sky was clearer earlier when he was with Chiaki and Kanata but now the rain seems to have come back. He remembered the smile that was as bright as the sun and turned amethyst eyes back to Izumi who was now cursing under his breath at their luck.

It was close but the two got home before they were fully drenched by the late afternoon shower. Izumi placed the tired baby down on the comfy bed and left to go find dry clothes for them to change into while Tsukasa leaned on two downy pillows.

Leaving the sugar in the kitchen the knight decided jam could wait another day and after changing their clothes he flopped down on the bed next to Tsukasa. The baby was trying to keep his purple eyes open, clutching the puffer fish Kanata gave him earlier.

Tsukasa learned a lot of things and met a few new people today. There was the friendly shopkeeper with the pretty blue and gold eyes who gave him candy and had that strange accent. The siren that liked to sit in the town fountain and sang mostly whatever he said. And lastly the passionate sailor with the burning heart who told lots of funny stories and was (supposedly) good friends with Izumi. All of them were completely different from the usually cold knight and weird king he spent the last few weeks with and he wondered how many other people were in the kingdom, by the looks of it he’ll only meet more.

Izumi watched the little red head yawn and leaned back against the pillows, larger hands gently patting the baby's slightly damp red hair.

“Go to sleep Kasa-kun, I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.” The knight looked out the window and saw the rain wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

Considering that everything they did today was technically a success, Izumi rolled over next to his sleeping charge and started planning their next trip to town. He had to get new clothes for the baby and he remembered seeing Tsukasa eyeing some books at a store they passed by. Sighing, that could only mean he had to go back to the shopping district and while it was better than the crowded marketplace it was closer to the castle which reminded him of one more thing.

Its been awhile since he last visited Leo at the palace.

That was going to be  _so_ annoying...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I don't really have anything written for ch. 4 but I have plans. I have plans...? So I can't really promise the next chapter to be out within a week. But I'll do my best to finish it soon~
> 
> Comments/kudos really do motivate me, so if you're thinking of doing so, please go right ahead~ I'll see you all next time, bye-byyyeeee~


	4. Bonus - At Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Chapter: The children of Ryuseitai spend their day 'together' while their parents are away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the Ryusei-Star chapter nobody asked for *dances to Rebellion Star* 
> 
> I realized I never actually wrote how old everyone is so I'll put it in the end notes... I also added two people besides the ryusei trio who were supposed to appear later but... I couldn't help it~ ;w; I thought they'd get an event but Eve showed up and well...
> 
> Wouldn't have finished this today if my beta didn't keep pestering me (Beta: click-clack, I don't hear those keys typing!) So thank her... somehow? And I hope you enjoy~

“I want to die…” Midori groaned.

Blue eyes hid in gloved hands when Midori slouched over his knees to curl up into a ball. His younger companion sitting next to him bit his lips nervously, their white boots swung back and forth on the bench they were both sitting on.

“We’re in trouble aren’t we…?”

The seven-year-old looked up from his palms and sighed. His eyes were slightly watery and the hat tilted over his head casted a gloomy shadow on his face.

“I don’t know how we lost him Tetora,” Midori said quietly, lips shaking as he looked around them. He didn't want anyone around him to see him have mental breakdown so he held his tears back. “He was right on my shoulders and then he was gone-”

The two watched as people and carts continued to pass them on the way into the sea town. Loud seagulls flew over them towards the ocean and a mist of salt-water caressed their faces every few seconds even though the waves crashed further down shore.

Feeling like he was the only hope of keeping the situation ‘positive’ the five-year-old grabbed his brother’s hand reassuringly. “It’s okay Midori, the pier isn’t that big. Let’s look one more time. Cap’n said heroes should never give up!”

Today’s sunlight was harsh even though there were dark clouds earlier that morning. Blue eyes noted a little patch of red start to form on Tetora’s nose that matched his eyes - which meant they’ll get sunburned if they stayed any longer on that bench.

“A hero?” Midori stared at the water in front of them, grimacing at the word he knew oh so well. “Sure would be nice if one showed up now…”

The boat they lived on was a few docks away. Chiaki, their captain, loved the small port town where he grew up and was a local hero. He was highly decorated as one of the king’s best war leaders, even though he was unpredictable, he excelled mostly at the sea front which rewarded him his heroic title. It wouldn’t have been strange for him to retire like another captain did, but even when the waves have calmed he decided an “Ally of Justice” did not rest and took up more adventurous trips for the king rather than sit quietly in a manor for the rest of his life.

It was on those many trips that he found Midori and later on Tetora and asked them both respectively if they would like to come with him, to become heroes of justice.

They were reluctant at first, Midori especially, but the boy eventually agreed after gaining  _some_  respect for the sea captain. The two received so much love and support from Chiaki and even Kanata that they began to act like a family. It’s been four years since then and Chiaki has since brought home with him a new younger sibling for them this last trip. When cute yellow eyes peeked out from behind dark purple hair it was when the baby first saw Midori that he became immediately attached to him. Tetora followed soon after and the three were inseparable since.

The baby was also the reason why Midori was feeling so depressed right now. Hands nervously fidgeted with the hem of his jacket.

“That was the third time we looked Tetora. There’s no way Sengoku would just magically reappear if we retrace our steps the fourth time.” The taller boy dropped his hat to rub his head. “Ahh… this is so depressing… if only we never left the boat this would have never happened.”

Tetora hopped off the bench still holding one of Midori’s hands and tried to drag the older boy up towards the small harbor.

“Don’t say things like that Midori! Cap’n and Vice-cap'n said they’re coming back before sunset. We can find Sengoku before then. We're not real men unless we work hard to be one!”

“You’re  _five_  Tetora…”

“Yeah, but I’m still gonna work hard so let’s go!”

The taller boy watched black and red-streaked hair race ahead of him. Staring down at his hands Midori clenched his fists and stumbled after his younger brother. Even though it was scary to think they’d never find Shinobu, there was always a chance things could turn around. It was time to get serious- is what he thought but…

He remembered the warm smiles their ‘parents’ gave them when they left for the capital, which made him feel even more guilty.

 _“Takamine! You’re old enough to be responsible for the three of you today. Don’t give me that look, you’re already seven, Kanata and I can trust you to handle the other two. We just have to hand in a report to the king so we won’t be too long~_ _☆_ _”_

_“Make sure you ‘watch’ the sea too okay~” Kanata patted his head gently, his damp hand flattening light brown locks, “We will bring you all back a ‘souvenir’ for being good~”_

And they left early that morning, looking rather strange sitting on horses instead of navigating a ship helm.

He caught up to the shorter black haired boy and tried to look as determined as possible before they decided to set up a search plan. After quickly devising their strategy, Tetora smiled and nodded his head, agreeing that both of them were to split up and meet near the port before sundown.

They searched local fish stalls and darted under market tables to look for any clues of Shinobu ever being there. Midori looked behind large crates and jars at the docks while Tetora ran in and out some stores stopping travelers and merchants to ask if they’ve seen the small baby in yellow.

The trading areas were big but the amount of people thinned out around this time of day so the two thought the baby would pop up easier if they kept looking. But with every nook and cranny the kids found, they all came up empty and their stomachs started to churn uneasily, the sun getting lower in the sky.

Tired and out of breath the two eventually met back near the edge of town dragging scuffed white boots against the ground. The day was coming to an end and their two guardians were likely on their way back from the capital unaware of what happened to their youngest child. They were getting desperate.

“Arrggghhh we looked everywhere!!” Tetora shook his head angrily, voice reverberating off large waves that crashed against the shoreline. “Can you believe not a single person’s seen him? I can find a guy talking to rocks, but a baby is a weird thing!?”

Midori turned to his right to see the younger boy kick his feet in the air. He knew it would be hard to get any help from anyone since people were in and out of port like the tide and–wait…what was this about talking rocks?

“It shouldn’t be this hard to find a baby, Sengoku can’t even sit up straight!”

“He’s small, so wouldn't it be easy to miss him…?”

Tetora laid face first on the ground and screamed while Midori brought out a small green frog stuffed animal. Kanata made it for them in case Shinobu ever started crying but for now it was being squished around to help him calm down. Bright green leaves flew up when Tetora’s white boots hit the floor and the taller boy had to brush away a few that landed in his lap before his younger brother started throwing a tantrum. “Sengoku where are yooooouuuuuu!?”

When the black haired boy finished yelling he rolled over and turned towards Midori with a worried look on his face. “What do you think happened to him? He must be so scared right now… you know how much he doesn’t like strangers!”

“Maybe he was kidnapped…” Midori watched all the color drain from his younger brother’s face. He almost wanted to take back what he said but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. “If we can’t find him that means someone must’ve taken him... Like one of those people who could use stealth spells, or demons who steal people away in their sleep.”

“That’s scary, that’s scary Midori! Don’t say things like that!! I’ve heard enough of vice-cap'ns stories to last for weeks!”

“But they could be true,” the light brown haired boy twirled his fingers around the tassel of his jacket. The bright gold strings tangled across his fingers in knots. “Didn’t captain say children could get spirited away back in Sengoku’s country? Maybe ghosts followed us here and took Sengoku back with them?”

“No! Sengoku is our brother now. I’m not gonna let ghosts take him back to that place. I’ll fight them if I have to! They can’t mess with _our_ family!”

Blue eyes opened wide at the younger boy’s outburst. He could see the five-year-old’s knees shake a little but he applauded his brother’s bold declaration. Midori didn’t want their new baby brother to be taken away either, he didn’t want to think such a bad thing could happen. But he was only seven and there was only so much two kids could do that kidnapping seemed like the most logical solution.

This sucks. All he wanted was to take a nice walk with his family on the pier today, not have one disappear into thin air. He had the youngest nestled comfortably on his shoulders when they got off the boat earlier so Midori thought he would be fine since it would be obvious if the baby fell off. But when he felt his shoulders lighten and turned around to see no one was there he panicked and that threw Tetora into a flurry as well.

The older boy was pulled out of his thoughts when Tetora tugged on his jacket sleeve pointing towards the beach curiously.

“Midori, I think someone’s over there…” He followed his red eyes looking in the direction of a figure pacing up and down the shoreline. “It’s the guy I told you about earlier – you know, the one who was talking to a rock.”

Light blue eyes noticed the long robe-like jacket and bright red lapels the traveler was wearing and for some reason, thought he saw them before. The blue gems on their jacket shimmered in the sun and with a trick of light it looked like stars bounced around them. Oh. It was at the castle library Chiaki took him to visit a few years ago. If he remembered it correctly there were a bunch of magik users that lived there to practice spells.

“He looks kinda familiar,” Midori took the smaller boy's hand and led him towards the shore. It wasn't too long ago, but Chiaki took him on a short trip to the capital where he was able to meet a certain group of people. Confident the man who was pacing around was one of them, he decided to take initiative. “I think I know him. Captain was friends with someone like him and told me about them, let’s go and ask…”

Tetora followed the taller boy surprised, hand firmly gripped in the larger boy's. It was rare for his older brother to be so… reliable (aside from whenever he snuck him his carrots at dinner). He vaguely remembered his Taishou saying something about Midori and Cap’n being similar so this must be one of those once in a while moments.

“So Midori knows him? You think he can help us?”

Midori shook his head slowly, careful to not to trip on the sand below them. “It’s not that I really  _know_  him but for sure he can use magik.”

“Magik?” Tetora hopped over a rock and looked over at the pacing man ahead of them. He's never met anyone who could use magik even when they traveled all over the world. There were only so few places it was allowed so this could be the first time he’d ever witness it (Vice cap'n’s bubble blowing didn’t really count).

“That’s so cool! He can find Sengoku then?”

“Captain tries to use finding magik sometimes so I guess so,” Midori looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “It’s not really something we should talk about in public so we should ask nicely without being rude.”

As the two boys got closer they saw the blond man somehow paced himself even deeper into the sand. Shaky hands were clutching a large magenta stone that glowed beautifully red and his green eyes looked worriedly through thick, round lenses. “I’m sorry, I think I’m close by but I don’t really know where I am so-!”

He was taller than Midori by a good head, considering the seven-year-old was big for his age and if the light browned haired boy listened carefully he thought he could hear noises coming from the rock. Was that a voice? Blue eyes spotted large tears falling from pretty emerald eyes like stars.“Uhm, excuse me?” Midori took a deep breath and slowly approached the flustered blond who jumped and turned around to see two children looking up curiously at him. “Do you need any help?”

Slightly embarrassed the man wiped his cheeks with his jacket before straightening out his clothes and glasses. “Oh- Uhm yes…I-”

The blond held the rock closer to his chest and began to breath slowly to help him calm down. “I’m a little lost and... Well, I don't really come out to this side of the country without a guide so... Would you two happen to know where I could find a cherry blossom tree? There’s apparently only one in this town and I promised to meet my friend there and we both ended up getting lost.”

Tetora blinked and looked up at Midori, “Oh, that would be near the harbor wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah… if you want we could take you there?” He saw the man nod his head gratefully and the three started walking down towards the harbor.

“Thank you so much! I’ve never actually seen it before but I heard those trees turn pink so I thought it'll be easier to find.”

“That's only in the spring. It’s kind of hard to find it in the summer since it turns green like everything else.” the taller boy tilted his head. “If you don’t mind me asking… what was that thing you were holding earlier?”

“Is it magik or are you crazy?” Tetora practically shouted and Midori groaned wanting to curl up into a ball because discretion meant nothing with his brother.  _‘He’s only five, Midori, he’s only five…’_

The bespectacled man froze a little but slowly fell back into step when he realized the younger boy meant no harm. “Umm yeah... it’s magik…”

“Really!? I have to tell Taishou later then!”

As they continued walking, Tetora was smiling at the blond wizard. Green eyes blinked twice before the teen realized he was still being stared at. “Oh, I don’t think I introduced myself yet, I’m Yuuki Makoto. I-I’m sort of an apprentice to the King’s head sorcerer back at the castle but it’s not really that impressive. I use this rock to talk to people who has one like it, handy right?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it before!” Red eyes widened excitedly. Tetora scooted closer to look at the stone Makoto held out for him to get a better look. “I’m Nagumo Tetora, this is Midori! We live with someone who works for the King too, but we travel around a lot and Cap'n says I'm too young so I’ve never been to the castle yet. So who were you talking to?”

“A really dear friend of mine.” Makoto smiled gently. Having the excited young boy cling to his jacket was making him feel a lot less nervous. “It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other because he moved to the neighboring kingdom. So when I found out he was coming for a visit I got a little ahead of myself and rushed down here. I don’t know the town well so that’s why I tried calling him. Turns out he doesn't know it either so... Silly isn’t it?”

Tetora shook his head, “No no, I do the same thing too. But Midori's gotten better at finding me now so I don't get in trouble with Vice-Cap'n anymore.”

"It's because you always end up screaming for me whenever you get scared." Midori looked over to the bespectacled man, “Actually we have something to ask you if that's okay?”

“Hmm, what is it? If you need help I'll be glad to do whatever I can. It's the least I can do since you're helping me.”

“Well, our brother’s been missing and we’ve been looking for him all day,” Midori started, “We were hoping if you had any spells that could help?”

“Sengoku’s a baby and he’s really tiny! We’ve been worried all day because we can’t find him!”

Makoto’s eyes widened. “Of course I can, that actually sounds really bad why didn't you ask me sooner? I could do a tracking spell right now if you want?”

“No no no, it's okay. Let us take you to your meeting place first. We were planning on heading there anyways.” Midori paused, looking at the wizard a little confused. “But now something’s bothering me… if you know a tracking spell then why couldn’t you use it to find your friend earlier?”

Tetora also tilted his head curiously as the wizard started to roll up his sleeves, probably getting hot from the sun. Midori gestured vaguely to the town in the distance, “You wouldn’t have gotten lost looking for your meeting place if you looked for him directly…”

Makoto smiled and slowed his steps so he could spend a little more time with the two kids. “If it was that easy I’m not sure you could call it ‘magik’ then.”

He lifted his arms and slowly moved his fingers into a swinging motion. A green light followed his motion and tiny stars began to fall from ‘string’ like ornaments.

“You haven’t seen your brother since this morning right? This should work then." 

“Uwah,” Red eyes still stared in awe at the shapes Makoto created with bright green lights, it looked kind of like a compass, but instead of an arrow in the middle it had a pendulum swinging in circles. “What’s that thing in the middle? It looks like those clocks I see for sale in town sometimes.”

“Mmm you’re not wrong. I like to think of it as a dowser.” He stopped moving his fingers and the image faded while Makoto started rummaging through his side bag. “I actually have this glass orb my friend gave me the other week that could supposedly do the same thing, but I haven’t tried it yet. It apparently took him  _‘forever’_  to find but honestly I think it was just too shiny for him to let go- oh are we here already?”

The three reached a clearing where a large tree sat in the middle and looked up at long twisty branches. The long shadows the sun cast created curvy shapes on the grass and the sea breeze reached them even though they were more inland.

“Yup, this is the tree,” Tetora let go of his older brother’s hand and ran up to the tree to stand under its shade. “Our Cap’n said he planted it when he was a kid so we like to come here to play sometimes. We found out Sengoku came from the same country as this tree so we try to pass by it often for him too.”

Green leaves rustled gently in the wind, and a pleasant breeze blew through their hair as all three took a deep breath and sighed in unison.

“It’s nice here.”

“Yup! The calm feeling you get feels great!”

“It’s all right I guess…”

They were all brought out of their blissful trance when they heard a noise come from the tree.

“Hey uh,” a voice came down from one of the higher branches. “I know it’s nice here and all but can you guys hear me from down there?”

Makoto looked up, his emerald eyes widening in surprise when he saw whoever was above them, “Isara-kun!? What are you doing up there!?”

“Eheheh, it’s kind of a long story…” Mao scratched his cheek sheepishly. Midori took note that the man's magenta hair was a mess and his clothes were covered in dirt and leaves. It looked like he had a few scratches on him too so he must have either fallen a lot or the tree branches weren’t too kind. “Could you help me down Makoto? I’m not good at climbing down so a vine or ladder would be perfect – the branches here are a little knotty.”

“What are you doing up there then!?” Tetora blurted out and stared confused at the other green eyed man. “Midori won't even let me climb trees, and I scale masts all the time!”

“This is the worst…” Midori groaned. “That’s why I don’t let you do it- you’ll get stuck like him…”

“Ah, actually,” Mao nervously shifted on the branch and three pairs of eyes looked from the rumpled up man to the lump of yellow lying over his lap. “Another reason why I’m still up here is because I saw this little guy crawling over a few branches and-”

“SENGOKU!”

“Oh- is that his name?” Green eyes blinked at the tiny baby who sat up and squealed when he heard his name being called.

Peeking over Mao’s arms that were keeping him from falling, Shinobu saw Midori and Tetora below him and giggled. “I was wondering what he was doing up here since being in a tree is dangerous and all, so I picked him up before he could fall. Look little guy, your friends are down there waiting for you. Wave to them like this~”

“Ahhh Sengoku always did like high places.” Tetora dragged his hands down his face. Shinobu was now flailing his little arms happily at them as if those countless panic attacks the two boys had never even happened. “Isn’t this great Midori? He was up there the whole time, he didn’t get kidnapped!”

When he got no response the red-eyed boy turned to see the listless blue eyes of his brother.

“Midori come baaacckkk!! We just found Sengoku– why’d your soul leave your body!?”

Makoto who just casted a small spell to help his friend get down smiled fondly at the two children who were crying excitedly.

Still a bit confused at how a baby got stuck in a tree (that wasn't something that happened every day) he watched as Mao slowly climb down the makeshift ladder and giggled to himself, the same could actually be said for his friend now that he thought about it.

Finally reaching the floor Mao handed the taller boy Shinobu who immediately started rubbing his cheek cutely against Midori’s chest.

“He’s really well behaved and pretty strong for his age.” Mao pushed his hair back, brushing loose bangs away from his face. Makoto only now just noticed his clip was missing and was pinning the baby's bangs back instead. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby climb a tree like that.”

“Maybe he’s like those spies overseas? They were called ‘ninja’s’ I think…?” the blond playfully bumped Mao’s shoulders before he looked down and saw his dirty clothes. “Ah! You can’t go back to the Emperor looking like that Isara-kun, you look like you got into a fight with a stray cat!”

“It’s fine it’s fine, you could say I'm a cat anyway right?” The magenta haired man winked cheekily. He shook off as many twigs and leaves on his clothes before throwing his arms around Makoto to hold him close in a tight hug. “It’s been awhile Makoto, I’m back.”

The blond felt his eyes water and returned the hug laughing. “Welcome home Isara-kun!”

Mao wiped a few tears away from pretty green eyes and smiled widely when Makoto leaned over to brush more leaves from his hair blabbering.

“Everybody missed you you know? Akehoshi-kun and Hidaka-kun were so antsy when you first left, they wouldn't stop trying to send a carrier pigeon! And you won’t believe how much the Master wanted you back. The ambassador here in your place pisses him off so much that it’s always scary to see him in the study. Oh, and our librarian always gets yelled at whenever we deliver reports to him every week! It's terrible!”

“And what about you…?” Peridot eyes twinkled at emerald teasingly.

“Hmm? What about me-? Oh, you have a little blood over here too, let me heal that for you.”

Slim fingers glowed pale blue and feathered over the cuts on Mao’s cheek. “Honestly Isara-kun, what were you going to do if we didn’t find you? It’s okay if I disappeared but you’re too important to the kingdom to go missing-!!”

Mao grabbed his arm suddenly, a startled yelp came from the blond when the stronger man firmly gripped his wrist in his hands. “Don’t say that, you’re just as important to the kingdom as I am. The head sorcerer wouldn’t have any successors if you weren’t here. Think better of yourself Makoto, not everyone has that amount of talent!”

He loosened his grip but still didn’t let go of Makoto’s hands. The wizard’s fingers shook nervously in Mao’s until they firmly grasped them back. "Got it?"

"Yeah..."

The two stayed quiet for a while until they heard Tetora start shaking Midori besides them, Shinobu shrieking ecstatically at the jerky rocking.

“Maybe you should try to heal that one up too, he looks a little pale,” Mao laughed. Midori was doing a good job at not dropping the baby while not actually  _being_  there but someone had to break him out of his trance eventually.

Makoto frantically nodded and darted over to the kids, one who was on the verge of crying again as the sun finally made it over the horizon.

It wasn’t until they heard loud boastful yelling coming from a distance that they saw Chiaki and Kanata rear up in front of them. Slightly sweaty and out of breath everyone in the group silently thought the duo still looked weird riding horses. Please. Just stay on boats from now on.

“Takamine! Nagumo!! Sengoku!!! We’re baaccccckkk~!!” Chiaki hopped off his horse and tackled his kids to the grass, hat flying off and obviously careful not to hit the baby with his larger body. “I was worried when I didn't see you guys on the ship yet! We thought you’d at least meet us when we came back!!”

“Kids like to ‘play’ Chiaki~ they are old enough to take care of themselves~♪” Kanata hummed turning to look at both Mao and Makoto. “Oya~? It is the ‘King’s' ambassador and the ‘Philosopher’s' apprentice. It is nice to see you~ nice to see you~♪”

The two nodded their heads in greeting, both a little thrown off by the pace the siren went at.

Chiaki, who was now done suffocating his kids, got up to hug both the magenta haired man and blond tightly, squeezing them in a really warm hold. “It’s been awhile you two! You all grew up!! Isara, I heard you moved to Tenshouin’s kingdom as an ambassador, hope everything’s fine there!!! How’s Akehoshi? If you two are here... IS AKEHOSHI AROUND TOO!?”

“Not at the moment…” Mao gritted out, not expecting to meet the enthusiastic sailor so soon while visiting. Makoto was already dizzy from being squeezed too tightly.

“Choooopp~♪”

Smoke rose from Chiaki’s head as he clenched it comically. Kanata puffed his cheeks out to reprimand his captain. “Chiaki, they look like they are going to pass out. You should let go of them now…”

“Sorry Kanata,” the brown haired captain rubbed his head. He slowly got back up on his feet and smiled bashfully. “That wasn’t very hero-like was it?”

He patted both younger men on the back and laughed heartedly. “Ah this is nice isn’t it? I’ve been reuniting with everybody~☆ First Sena, then the King, and now you guys! Luck is on the hero’s side today! It was great catching up with everyone! Especially after Sena retired, I thought I'd never see him again~”

Mao felt Makoto flinch and pulled him closer.

“I’m guessing they’re your kids then Captain?” The young ambassador tilted his head to the side, watching the three children get small bags from Kanata beside them.

Chiaki nodded smugly, “They're cute aren't they? Takamine still has room to warm up to me but Nagumo and Sengoku are little rascals that crave attention."

He clapped his hands to get the attention of his four crew members. "Sailors! It’s time to return home. The sun’s going down and we have to get back to the ship least someone beats us to it!”

“Agh! If a stranger breaks into our boat I’m gonna kick'em!” Tetora yelled and scrambled over to Chiaki who lifted him up onto his horse.

“Violence is bad Tetora~ we can just call our 'sea friends' to take care of them~♪”

“No, that’d be too much of a pain,” Midori dragged his feet over to the siren who let him sit behind him. Shinobu had a gold tassel from his jacket in his mouth, drooling substantially over Midori’s jacket. “At least call the police or something.”

“But Midori, aren’t Captain and Vice-captain like the police here?”

Midori groaned.

“I’ll be going now,” Chiaki grinned and hopped onto his own horse behind Tetora and pulled up the reigns. “Good bye Isara, Yuuki. If you ever are in trouble just call me, Morisawa Chiaki, and I’ll be there to help you in a pinch!”

Mao and Makoto watched the group leave, loudly making their way down the hill, and finally processed what just happened. They blinked at each other before bursting out laughing.

“So I guess we'll head to town then?” Mao pulled Makoto towards him by the arm to start walking towards town, streetlights lit for nighttime. “A warm bath and food sounds really good now that today’s over. I’ve been stuck in that tree  _all_  day.”

Makoto grinned, uneasiness from earlier gone and waved his hand to bring up a little flame to help them see where they were going. “Yeah, and then we can take you back to the Emperor's current residence. They must be worried with you being gone.”

“Nah, they don’t need me right now. I already told them I was gonna do my own thing so I think I’ll spend my time here with you if that’s okay. If I have to deal with that little princess’ screeching one more time I might go deaf.”

Emerald eyes lit up like the brightest of jewels and Mao smiled, he was super glad he was able to see Makoto again after so long. Being away from home was hard alone.

“If you'll have me then I can't say no can I? I guess next week we can go see Akehoshi-kun and Hidaka-kun, they’re still busy at the capital since it's almost harvest season so let’s take our time until then~”

“Sounds good to me, I'll race you to the nearest inn!”

“Ah! That’s not fair Isara-kun, you know I’m bad at running!”

Makoto only received a laugh as an answer.

 

* * *

 

“So I heard you two lost Sengoku today?” Chiaki folded his hands on the table. Both Midori and Tetora froze while eating their food. Shinobu stared at his two older brothers while gnawing on some soft bread Kanata was handing to him, tilting his head confused.

Shaking his head frantically, Tetora swallowed whatever he had in his mouth and gasped haggardly. Midori passed him a glass of water which he downed immediately hoping he didn’t look  _too_  desperate.

“Where'd you hear that Cap’n? I-It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.”

“Well, as we were on our way back me and Kanata heard from someone that two young boys were running up and down the port looking for a baby.”

“A baby all in yellow~” Kanata sang, “So we thought you two lost Shinobu and that is why you were all near the tree ‘Chiaki’ likes, not the boat~♪ Good job finding him there~”

“Uhm…” Midori gulped, looking over to see the frantic expression on Tetora’s face. He had to come up with something or else Chiaki would rub their heads while giving them a lecture on how heroes were supposed take care of people and not lose them. C’mon Midori think, there had to be something he could say.

“Y-you didn’t hear that from Mikejima-san did you?”

Chiaki and Kanata silently looked at their oldest son and then at each other.

“Actually, we did didn’t we?”

"Oh, well… We do not listen to people like him Chiaki. Let us finish dinner now~♪”

Tetora stared at Midori in disbelief as their parents went back to their plates and ate like they never brought up the topic at all. The two kids decided to just take their free pass and continued to eat dinner as well. Carrots still passed under the table in secret.

It was when they all heard a little sneeze come from Shinobu the table went quiet and two large yellow eyes stared at his family wondering why they were all looking at him. He picked up the piece of bread he dropped and went back to gnaw on it, completely dead set on finishing his food.

“On another note,” Chiaki stared at the baby’s purple hair that was pulled back like a certain person they met today. “We should probably return Isara’s hair clip soon huh?”

The table went silent again and Kanata pulled out a jelly fish stuffed animal from underneath it and placed the clip on top. "Do you think he would like it if-"

“No Vice-captain, I don’t think he’ll want it back like that…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp here it is!
> 
> Ages of everyone that appeared so far...
> 
> Izumi, Leo, Chiaki: 23  
> Makoto, Mao: 19  
> Mika: 16  
> Midori: 7  
> Tetora: 5  
> Tsukasa, Shinobu: less then a year (I'm being really vague on purpose)  
> Kanata: ??? <\-- He's a siren so it's complicated
> 
> So this was fun~ I'm working on the next one right now since I'm taking a break next event. Let me know if you liked this kind of chapter and I'll plan more (I actually have another one for later but, shhhh) owo
> 
> See you all later, byyyeeeee~


	5. A Melody that won’t Disappear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm is coming... Yes the storm is here~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *head bangs* WE ARE FIGHTING FOR THE FAITH-

It’s been raining for a few days now when Tsukasa opened his eyes to see large droplets of water roll down the window.

Recently he and Izumi have been staying indoors all day due to the heavy rain. The sudden storm when they went to town apparently wanted to stay for a few more days so lately they’ve been sitting together quietly enjoying the pitter-patter of raindrops. It was fun to watch the droplets on the clear window pane but since Tsukasa was still lying down, eyelids heavy having just woken up, he couldn't see the smaller trails of water race down the glass.

The little red head tried to wiggle his way up into a sitting position however the arm Izumi had around him made him sink back into the fluffy pillows they slept on. Annoyed, Tsukasa turned around to face his guardian and started to hit the silver haired knight’s chest hoping he would wake up and let go of him. After a few more tugs on his night shirt and a puffer fish doll thrown at his face Izumi finally woke up with a groan. Arms moved away from the infant to run a hand through messy silver hair.

"Kasa-kun, I already told you there is nothing under the bed that could get you-" Blue eyes slowly opened to see that the room was still dark. Dark rolling clouds prevented him from seeing any daylight outside the window. "Ugh, did the sun even rise yet…? What are you doing up this early?"

Izumi got out of bed carefully so the baby wouldn't roll under the blankets. Finally able to get up easier Tsukasa happily wiggled his way over to the window to stick his cheek against the glass. The cool sensation under his fingertips was pleasant and the condensation he could breathe on it was fun to leave shapes in.

It was after Izumi left the room, presumably to change and get ready for the day, that Tsukasa saw a bright white feather float down out of nowhere and brush over his nose.

Confused he glanced back to see if the knight came over to look out the window with him but instead he pouted when he found the room was still empty.

Flopping back onto the bed, still warm where Izumi slept Tsukasa burrowed under the covers to try and find where the pretty white feather fell.

Lifting his head out of the blankets he felt a large hand pat his head gently and he looked up expecting to see the silver haired knight smiling at him. Instead he saw a tall pretty blond with purple eyes just like him. He was wearing all white and had a feathered cavalier hat that dripped water onto the floor. He also had a short jacket lined with fluff and gold trimmings, muddy thigh high boots and the baby also thought he heard the rustle of feathers come from behind him.

“Hello Tsukasa-chan, you grew up so fast~”

Tsukasa squeaked and buried himself back under the covers. The blond brought his hand to his mouth and chuckled before bending down to soothingly rub the small lump on the bed. Voice kind and melodic like a song, “Arara~ don’t you remember me? That hurts big sister’s feelings you know~”

“Maybe if you didn’t break into our house he wouldn’t be so scared of you Naru…”

Amethyst eyes peeked out from his hiding place and saw Izumi frowning in the doorway, hand on his hip scowling at the intruder.

“Izumi-chan!! I’m so happy to see you~” the taller man practically flew over to the Knight. Tsukasa’s eyes widened when he saw spotted white appendages sticking out from the blonds back. A bird?

“You would not believe the weather we’ve been having, look! My flight feathers are soaked; I can’t go back to the castle like this!” Arashi jostled his wings behind him. The long gray and white feathers dragged on the floor leaving water in their wake.

“I noticed.” Izumi clicked his tongue. He was going to have to get a broom to clean up the trail of feathers Arashi left on his floor. Just when he thought Leo was the only one who left messes in his home the other knight had to come in and do the same. “That still doesn’t make it okay for you to break into my house and tread mud everywhere.”

The blue eyed knight’s hair was still a mess and he was holding what looked like a warm bottle of milk in his other hand. Tsukasa whined and reached for his breakfast when Izumi walked over to sit on the bed and picked him up. Cute sucking noises coming from the baby lightened Izumi’s mood considerably.

“We’re friends aren’t we?” Arashi perched himself on a chair nearby and crossed his muddy boots over his knee. Izumi shot him a glare and the other ‘man’ sighed, taking off the dirty boots and placed them on the floor away from his wings. “It’s been a couple months, I know you’re actually glad to see me~”

“I’ll be glad to see you leave,” Tsukasa heard the silver haired man mutter under his breath while he continued eating his breakfast. “You’re allowed to stay until your feathers dry, but after that get back to Ousama. There has to be some reason you’re flying out in this weather.”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out~”

Izumi stared at Arashi for a good ten seconds before looking back down to see Tsukasa’s bottle was now empty. Placing it on the side table he got up and walked over to the bird.

“Do you want to hold him?”

White feathers shifted around excitedly giving the neutral expression Arashi had away easily. “Is it really okay?” he whispered, looking down at the little red head whose lips wobbled when he first saw him. “I think I spooked him earlier.”

“Kasa-kun’s a lot of things, but he’s enough of a brat to be curious about you.” Blue eyes looked to the feathers dragging against the floor. “He’s been staring at your back the whole time I was carrying him.”

 _Uh-oh_. Tsukasa let out a tiny squeak when Izumi held him out to Arashi. “You know how to carry babies don’t you?”

“You give me too much credit Izumi-chan.” Arashi huffed and maneuvered his arms awkwardly to cradle the infant.

Tsukasa, who felt like he was about to cry, let himself be rocked by the new stranger. There was something familiar in the way gloved hands held him and the older man’s eyes widened when the baby didn’t shed a tear.

“Well… this is a surprise.”

“Didn’t you know? Kasa-kun was one.”

“He was wasn’t he?” Arashi laughed and glanced back to the little red head whose eyelids were beginning to droop from being cradled gently.

It was raining like today when Arashi carried the baby back to the castle that night, so it was surreal to be holding him again under less tragic circumstances. There was no smell of smoke or panicked screams from a burning town behind him and now those little hands that clutched tightly onto his shirt a few months ago were nestled comfortably against his chest.

Izumi walked back to the doorway with the empty bottle and stood there before glancing over his shoulder. “Keep doing that for a few more minutes and he should go back to sleep, he woke up a bit earlier than usual but he needs to rest more. Kasa-kun’s probably antsy since we couldn’t go out lately so let’s hope the rain stops soon.”

“Roger!” the blond watched Izumi disappear from the doorway and swayed slowly until the baby finally went back to sleep. Soft snores like music to his ears.

“You have such a cute older brother taking care of you,” Arashi smiled as he stood up carefully to pick up a blanket from the bed to tuck Tsukasa in comfortably. “I’m glad ousama chose Izumi-chan to take care of you.”

 

* * *

 

“So when did _you_ start making sweets?”

Izumi spluttered, almost dropping the tea he was holding for Arashi who was now sitting at his table – purple eyes squinted suspiciously at the cake in front of him. “Don’t tell me ‘you just felt like it’ because I know how much you hate eating _this_ much sugar…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the silver haired knight took a seat across from the blond and passed him a teacup. The owl noticed his cheeks were dusted a light pink. “It’s been raining all week so I had nothing else to do-”

“You really need to be more honest…” Arashi sighed and leaned back in his chair taking the cup to blow over the hot liquid gently. “Well, I suppose it’s a nice change from those crackers you used to give me. I do love the strawberries you grow in the back~”

“You’re always welcomed to those you know, there are so many I started making preserves with them.” Izumi took a sip of his tea and got up to cut a slice of cake for his intruder-turned-guest. “Here, it’s from last night so it should still be good.”

“Thank you~” a fork clinked lightly against the plate and Arashi took a bite, eyes closing blissfully at the soft spongy cake. “Izumi-chan’s food is the best. Take care of me too~”

“Like hell I will,” the retired knight crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair. “You’re old enough to take care of yourself.”

“Booo, stingy.”

He frowned. “Ugh, you’ve been hanging around that damn king too much. You’re all such kids I don’t know how you didn’t set the castle on fire yet.” Izumi rubbed his face for what felt like the tenth time that day. And it wasn’t even noon yet.

Feathers fluttered thoughtfully as hands set the fork he had in his mouth back down on the table. “Well… Mama just came back from traveling so Ousama hasn’t gone _too_ crazy recently. So I guess you have _him_ to thank for that. Ritsu-chan just sleeps during the day and disappears in the middle of the night so he’s not really around to do anything of note.”

He pauses, realizing something. “Oh, but we _are_ having guests over so it would be bad if we had nowhere to welcome them huh?”

Blue eyes noted the grin on the other knight’s face and raised an eyebrow. He had a good idea who he meant... this was going to be interesting.

“Don’t smile at me like that Izumi-chan, you’ll make me fall for you~” Arashi winked and Izumi felt his eye twitch uncomfortably. “You’re going to visit soon aren’t you?” He straightened his back, wings spread out a little to help them dry faster. “Ousama’s been so busy lately that we’re worried he might explode. If I remember correctly our guests are staying for about a month so you have plenty of time~”

“I guess…” Izumi deadpanned. He still wasn’t looking forward to visiting the castle soon.

Both knights heard a small whimper come from the bedroom and Izumi quickly stood up to go check on his charge. Taking his chance Arashi helped himself to another large piece of cake, moaning indulgently at sweet strawberry jam and light whipped cream melting perfectly together.

“Gods Naru-kun just take the whole cake if you’re going to eat that much.” Izumi walked back into the kitchen and looked out the window while holding the half asleep baby, the rain was still pouring hard outside, thunder rolling in the distance.

“Che, it’s been what? Four days…? Have you heard any news about this lightening up anytime soon?”

“Around noon I think,” Arashi mumbled with his mouth full of sweet _sweet_ sugar. He swallowed and took a sip of his now cool tea. “Since we still have time until then let’s do something fun!”

Izumi looked at him like he lost his head.

“I may be an owl Izumi-chan, but please don’t look at me like I rotated my head.”

“Well, it’s just anytime you want to do something ‘fun’ it always ends up being troublesome so I’ll pass.”

“How could you! I’ll have you know that I am the definition of fun!” Arashi dramatically dropped his head on the table.

Izumi glanced down and saw Tsukasa stare at the owl curiously, droopy eyes blinking slowly at his performance. Head tilting the same way the other knight had on the smooth wood surface Izumi jostled Tsukasa enough to get his attention. The sad little hoots that came from the bird were almost pathetic enough to pity him.

“Don’t _ever_ copy him Kasa-kun, this guy’s what you call a bird brain.”

Arashi let out a squawk and leaped out of his chair. “I take back everything I said Tsukasa-chan, your big brother’s a demon! Let big sister steal you away from him!”

“Haaah?” Izumi’s voice climbed a few pitches higher than usual, “I’d like to see you try Naru-kun.“

“Hoo~ Hoooo~♪”

Both knights stopped bickering and stared at the baby who giggled at the noises he made. Little sounds continued until he noticed two pairs of eyes on him and the red head quickly hid his face into Izumi’s shoulder, the knight could still hear him making muffled noises in his jacket.

“Izumi-chan, how often does Tsukasa-chan do that?” The owl looked over to the baby, tempted to coo at him and see if he would respond in kind. “I thought he was quiet because he couldn’t speak yet but it looks like he copies certain notes when he hears them.”

Izumi lifted the baby from his shoulder to hold him against his chest. The sounds came to a stop and small fingers found interest in the gold buttons on his jacket collar. Blue eyes glimmered as the baby continued to poke at them contently.

“When ousama comes to visit we sing to him sometimes...” Izumi thought back to the first few weeks of taking care of the baby. “That guy even tries to get him to sing along.”

Pale fingers pulled the gold chain Tsukasa had away from his mouth. “He could do it but it mostly ends with him listening to us instead. Kasa-kun really likes being sung to.”

Arashi clapped his hands excitedly. “Then that’s what we’ll do!”

“Uhyah!?” Izumi jumped from the sudden outburst and Tsukasa huffed grumpily at being jostled again. “Watch it Naru-kun!”

“We’ll teach him how to sing!” the owl flapped his wings happily, any remaining drops of water were on the floor. Izumi groaned at more things to mop up later. “Ousama actually wrote a song the other day that was really good~ I memorized it already so let me try to teach it to him!”

“I just told you I don’t think he’ll be able to follow you know-” Arashi already lifted Tsukasa out of Izumi’s hands and bounced over to the living room leaving the other knight fuming in the kitchen. Pulling a few pillows and blankets down from the couch the bird busied himself to make a nest in front of the fireplace around the baby. Izumi sighed and went back to the bedroom to grab more things for their makeshift pillow fort grumbling while he entered the room.

“Fine, it's not like we have anything to do until the rain’s gone anyway so I’ll indulge you. Be grateful.”

“That’s the spirit!” the winged man laid out a few blankets first, tucking his feathers in to prevent them from wetting anything else. Everything Izumi had in the house that was clean and warm was brought into the living room to be used one way or the other.

Tsukasa was placed onto a pillow furthest from the two knights and watched as they stacked cushions and even his puffer fish on the comfy looking mound. It seemed so soft and cushy he wiggled his feet impatiently wanting to roll around in it.

When they finally finished it was big enough for all of them (wings included) to fit in and spread their legs out. Tsukasa’s eyes sparkled excitedly when Izumi set him down on the blankets and rubbed his cheeks blissfully into clean cozy sheets.

Crawling in after him Izumi leaned against some pillows and sighed. Eyes closing peacefully now that the sound of heavy rain and thunder was muffled by the amount of blankets they had up.

“Arara~ don’t fall asleep yet.” Arashi removed his jacket and hat earlier and climbed in as well, careful not to knock anything over. "I know nests are super comfy but we have a song to learn~"

Picking up the snuggly baby he crossed his legs and sat him in his lap. Tsukasa tilted his head wondering why he took him from his warm haven.

“Tsukasa-chan, I heard you like ousama’s music.” The owl knight reached behind him and handed Izumi who was curled up in a blanket a sheet of music. It was still a little damp but the notes were still legible – Arashi heard Izumi grumble to himself how Leo always gave him the hard parts and chuckled. “Would you like to sing one with me?”

The little red head opened his mouth and sung a note. Izumi recognized it from one of the kings older ‘masterpieces’ and blinked in surprise. Maybe the bird brain wasn’t as dumb as he thought.

“Good good~” Arashi clapped and Tsukasa squealed happily. “Now repeat after me~♪”

It was after Izumi finished skimming through the new song thrice that the makeshift blanket fort they made was filled with Tsukasa and Arashi matching notes. Even though he couldn’t sing the lyrics his little charge was getting the tune right and it was adorable when he tried holding them out as long as he could to meet Arashi’s part.

“Yes! Just like that~” the blond squished his cheeks to the baby ecstatically when they finished the first few verses. “You’re such a good boy, big sis just wants to eat you up!’’

“So that’s why ousama left him to me…” Izumi handed the sheet music back to Arashi. It was hard but with a few days practice he’ll be able to sing it decently.

“No, it was because he thought you’ll be lonely,” Arashi waved his hand sparingly. “If you’re ready let’s start. I’m already all warmed up~♪”

Izumi looked at the owl and then at Tsukasa who was rocking back and forth on the blanket trying to remember the song he just sung. “I guess so huh? Alright, let’s begin~♪”

 

* * *

 

Tsukasa was fast asleep, cuddled up on Izumi’s chest when the rain finally stopped.

The silver haired knight rubbed his eyes and lifted the blankets to look out the window to see it was already nighttime and realized the three of them slept through the whole afternoon. Arashi was laying on the other side of the makeshift fort with his legs crossed, moonlit feathers splayed out against the sheets delicately and the blond showed no signs of waking. Maybe that hectic storm the owl flew through earlier finally caught up to him.

Then again they also spent a good amount of time trying to teach Tsukasa the new song, but the baby only tilted his head when he got confused by all the harmonies in it. They were also missing two other people to sing it with so it wasn’t like it going to be that successful anyways, but it was still worth a stab at.

Hoping the baby would settle for a warm pillow instead of himself, Izumi maneuvered his way out of the twisted blankets to relight the fire.

Not minding the cold night air he went through the house picking up any stray feathers and wiped down the floors. Thinking it was already too late to make dinner he decided he’ll just have to make an extra big breakfast for them in the morning and walked back into the living room humming a few notes of his favorite song.

The baby and owl were still fast asleep and the moon was high in the sky illuminating the white sheets they hung up beautifully. He still had a few more hours until sunrise and the nest in the middle of the room was really tempting to crawl back into.

He never really knew how to make a pillow fort since there weren’t too many points in his life where he owned a ton of pillows and blankets, but the arrangement turned out very pleasant (he had to thank Naru-kun for that).

Caving into it’s terrible coziness he climbed back into the mound and laid back down, fluffy pillows surrounded him as he brought Tsukasa closer to him again.

It rained so much the past few days what does one more lazy night hurt?

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean Naru stayed over!? You never let me sleep over even when it was pitch black outside!”

Izumi covered his ears and groaned at the orange haired man who had the nerve to start screaming at his door so early in the morning. ‘You may be the ruler of this kingdom but that doesn’t give you any right to come screaming at my doorstep,’ the silver haired knight wanted to close the door and save the complaining for later when he visited the damn king.

“Oh, ousama? What are you doing here?” Arashi peeked his head over the kitchen table, mouth full of pancakes and whipped cream. Tsukasa was sitting next to him munching on a soft roll topped with strawberry jam oblivious to all the loud shouting coming from the door.

“I was worried about you Naru! You didn’t come back last night so I thought the worst happened!” Leo waltzed into the house and plopped himself into the chair adjacent to the owl. “But here I find you eating breakfast made by _Sena._ Why do you get special treatment? I’m supposed to be the king!”

“You can have some too if you want ousama,” Arashi’s wings flapped a little as the he watched Izumi offer a plate to the grumpy king who took it without hesitation. “And you have to admit Izumi-chan’s food is to _die_ for. I can’t possibly leave when such a feast is laid out for me.”

“Ugh, I know I know. I don’t need to hear that from you.” Leo stabbed his pancakes and shoved them into his mouth. “Sena~ do you have anything to drink? I don’t want tea, it’s too bitter.”

Izumi rolled his eyes and handed him a bottle of milk which made light green eyes stare at it befuddled.

“It’s not for you, it’s for him.” The silver haired knight pointed to the big amethyst eyes peeking over the table.

“Ahh~♪”

“Oh, Suo~! I didn’t see you there!” Leo walked over to pick up the baby who smiled brightly at being carried by the small king. “Was that from a song I wrote…? When did you learn that!?”

Arashi giggled and twirled his fork carefully with a strawberry still on it. “Just yesterday~ Since I dropped in during the storm we had a little time so we taught some of it to him.”

“That’s good! No wait- That’s great~! ♪” Leo grinned when little hands pat his cheeks playfully. “You’re growing up so fast aren’t you? I love you Suo~☆”

“Babies tend to do that,” Izumi flipped the last pancake and set a plate aside for himself later. “Ousama take Naru-kun with you when you’re done, I have some things to do today and he probably has a message to give you.”

“So quick to get rid of me?” Arashi’s feathers rose in shock. “I even wanted to spend more time with Tsukasa-chan today. Honestly that’s the part of you that’s not cute at all Izumi-chan!”

“You think I care? Kasa-kun and I will be at the castle this week anyways so it’s not like you won’t see him in _years_. You’re soooo clingy…”

“Wait- Sena’s gonna visit!? I never heard that!” Leo shouted through a mouthful of food. Tsukasa was sitting on the chair next to him now, the orange haired man was now helping him drink the milk Izumi warmed up for him happily.

I’m gonna kill him. Izumi ran both hands down his face exasperated. “Finish you’re food and leave. The council's probably out looking for you if you ran out so early to come here.”

“No no no, wait for it. My inspiration won’t stop until it’s satisfied, I’ll be right back!” Leo dashed out of the kitchen leaving Izumi flabbergasted at his escape.

Arashi cleared his throat and took a sip of tea. Tsukasa looked between the two of them and at the pile of blankets still set up in the other room. Feet rocking excitedly. “So… I guess that means we have time for another song…?”

“Remind me to _never_ let you stay over again…”

“You say that but we’re probably going to have a slumber party here one day.”

Izumi only groaned when he heard Tsukasa make a noise in excitement as Arashi picked him up and ran back to the pillow fort.

One day, but not today.

“You’re not inviting Kuma-kun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya, I'm glad to see you all liked the bonus chapter, the comments/kudos made me really happy and somehow this ended up over 4000 words~ Anyways next chapter is going to be a monster compared to this so let's hope I could get it done before ryusei/knights albums come out.
> 
> Oh, as for Arashi, think of him as his Moonlight Owl 5* only with wings~ I really want that card...
> 
> As always, I'll see you all later~ Good luck to those tiering in event right now and in the future. Byyyeeeeee~


	6. Golden Arrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukasa might have an unhealthy obsession with ribbons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cue intense violin solo here* 
> 
> My chapter titles don't make sense anymore.
> 
> This is 25 pages... I almost hit 12k words but I couldn't do it ;w; Enjoy.

Izumi watched Tsukasa swing his legs, a content hum from the baby as he carried him.

It was warm today. Sunlight gently caressed both their cheeks turning the tips of their noses pink. Icy blue eyes felt like they were melting whenever the sun was directly aimed at them and silver bangs were beginning to stick unpleasantly to his forehead. Occasionally a cool breeze would blow by making the walk slightly more bearable, but despite the ‘pleasant’ weather Izumi was starting to regret not taking his horse.

There was a good reason for it. They were actually going to be staying a few nights away from home so Izumi figured a nice stroll would cheer up Tsukasa when they left the house. He could get Leo or someone to drop them off later since he also had a few things he was planning to buy during their stay (like sugar– that was something that disappeared faster than he would’ve liked...) but honestly at this point it was ridiculous how long the walk was taking.

Now the knight was treading through a forest on the outskirts of town. Bright green leaves slowly grew darker the further they went in and splotches of sunlight peeked through the treetops leaving patches of light on the floor. It was nice, but it’d be even nicer if he wasn’t starting to get sweaty.

It also wasn’t his usual route. There was the archway that led into the marketplace, and thusly to the castle, but Izumi was pretty confident he wouldn’t get lost. As daunting as the forest was at night it was almost midday so there was no problem in seeing where he was going.

Truthfully, getting lost was the least of his worries anyways. Stumbling across one of his fellow Knights were. There was only one left and he was the one Izumi wanted to make sure Tsukasa never met due to his… _taste_ preferences.

He shook his head and shifted the bag on his back uncomfortably trying to focus the job he had right now. It was also why he took the forest path instead of the main road since it was a pain to get through. Leo left him an errand when he was done throwing a (inspirational?) fit. A small folded note written in chicken scratch found underneath a pillow when he left with the owl a couple nights ago.

Once he skimmed through it Izumi didn’t understand why the small king couldn’t do it himself since he was going to be in the area anyways, but then again no one could really say no to Leo (and he was also the king so whatever he says is law or something like that…).

“Ugggghhh, its soooo hot!” Izumi groaned, the rustling of leaves responded kindly. Tsukasa glanced at him before going back to kicking his legs again, finding more interest in the small streams of light dancing on his toes. Izumi even rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt earlier, but the little show of skin did nothing to help him with the heat.

He was actually wearing the same pretty, dark ensemble of navy and gold when he first took Tsukasa to town. Fitted black pants clung uncomfortably to his legs while he walked. His long tail coat was draped over his elbows because of the sun and on his left his navy and gold sword sat securely at his side.

Tsukasa sulked earlier when he wasn’t able to play with the gold ribbons or chains that usually hung from his shoulders, but eventually he stopped pouting and settled with doing some Izumi watching instead.

Even with the sun shining in his eyes, it was always amusing to watch the silver haired man. Tsukasa tilted his head to see his guardian frustratingly wipe sweat from his brow. Out of boredom or maybe out of curiosity he was determined to try and copy him. As far as his arms could reach, instead of brushing wisps of hair away from his forehead he brought red bangs far over his head until they stood stiffly up like a lion.

Displaying his new mane he was a little miffed the knight laughed at him instead and felt long fingers brush them back gently. Izumi’s fingertips were cool to the touch so it was nice for as long as the patting lasted, the heat no longer on both their minds but the little red heads ‘crowning’ achievement.

“Yes yes, you’re adorable Kasa-kun, make yourself look pretty when we’re done here okay?” Izumi teased.

The knight quickly scanned the area making sure he was heading in the right direction and hopped over a few fallen tree branches. He entertained the thought of teaching Tsukasa to say something cute every time he jumped but he thought of someone else who could do a better job with that then himself.

As dark boots broke through streams of sunlight on the ground Izumi started to sing. A soft melody that matched the soft rustling of leaves above them filled the air. The forest felt livelier with the knight’s singing and Tsukasa made a small noise of approval. From what he could remember of all the songs he learned the other day – harmonizing with Izumi was magical. Whenever he held out a few notes Tsukasa’s toes curled and heart raced.

Soon they reached a small clearing and Izumi shifted the baby so he was in his right arm now, standing patiently with the bag in his left. Tsukasa noticed it was the same bag Izumi had on his back earlier and whined. The knight tightened his grip around him hoping his charge wouldn’t try reaching for it before their guest arrived.

Speaking of their guest, he was a little late. Where was he?

“Izumi-saaaaannn!!”

Ah, there he is.

Sidestepping back Izumi dodged the giant man who practically leapt out of nowhere, long arms flailing when he missed and braced himself on the floor when he almost crashed into a tree. Rubbing a bump he had on his head the giant still smiled at the two brightly.

“Safe~! Ooh that was close, that was close.” Voice cheerful and loud, Izumi pointedly looked past the larger man at the trees behind him. “Izumi-san’s gotten really good at dodging lately hasn’t he? C’mere, c’mere! Let’s reunite with a hug~!! ☆”

The knight clicked his tongue and was about to sidestep the brunet again before he saw the taller man stop mid-step, tilting his head curiously to the right.

“Oya~ Who’s this? A new face to Leo-san’s kingdom! Bonjour, hello, konnichiwaaaa~☆! I’m Mikejima Madara, but just call me mama! It’s always a pleasure to meet the children of our future~!”

Jumping at the loud, booming voice Tsukasa let out a whimper when the giant man bounded over to greet him. Noticing large, round amethyst start to water Izumi wasn’t quick enough to tell Madara to not come any closer when Tsukasa started crying. Loud wails echoed throughout the forest.

“Mikejima-!!”

“Ahhh! I didn’t mean to make him cry!!” Madara frantically darted back and forth between the little crying red head and his flustered knight. Truly, it was a stunning first impression. “Here, here! It’s okay. Tears from a cutie like you are weapons of mass destruction! Smile instead, smile!”

“Stop it, you’re making it worse!” Izumi dropped the bag on the ground to cradle Tsukasa with both hands. Large tears fell onto his shoulder turning the fabric darker. “Honestly, I expected this from ousama but didn’t anyone teach _you_ not to scream at babies, it scares them!”

“I suppose you’re never too old to learn…” Madara scratched his cheek bashfully, “If Izumi-san says so I’m sorry little baby. Please forgive mama~”

He was probably forgiven despite the crying.

Izumi threw his head back and groaned, “Uggh, he’ll stop eventually. Here.” He lightly kicked the bag on the floor towards him. Blue eyes stared between Tsukasa and Madara tiredly. “Ousama told me to give this to you so take it. If this is for your _other_ job make sure everything’s there.”

“Ohoh, thank you,” large hands reached down to pick up the bag and rummage through its contents briefly. Izumi noticed his expression was a little stiff, he was probably feeling a little guilty about making Tsukasa cry. But crystal blue eyes still watched intently as Madara examined what was inside before nodding contently. “Yup, just what we needed. Leo-san and I can always trust you to keep us covered~☆”

“Stop dragging me into your pointless schemes, I’m supposed to be retired.”

“Yes, yes I know.” Madara shifted his weight onto one leg and brought a hand up to his mouth in thought. “It was just a small skirmish that happened the other day so don’t worry, nothing big, nothing big~ we’re only going over to the neighboring town to make sure everything’s okay~”

“I don’t care what it’s for, just don’t overdo it.”

Madara almost laughed. “You say that but you actually look relieved? Cold hands mean a warm heart after all~♪”

Gentle eyes noted the way icy blue ones immediately darted the other way. Embarrassed, but gloved hands continued to rub the baby’s back comfortingly. Tsukasa’s crying turned into soft hiccups within minutes.

Retired huh? Somehow that word seemed to have more of a double meaning lately. He’ll have to get Leo-san to explain more about it to him later.

“Ahhhh I’m so jealous!” Madara tucked in his long legs and crossed his arms over his knees. He rested his chin in his hands and mock pouted. “Why didn’t Leo-san tell me about your baby? I’m everyone’s mama! Let me help Izumi-san, it’s my joooob!”

Izumi stared incredulously at the giant man. “Stop acting like you didn’t know about him, if anything _you_ were the first person besides Naru-kun ousama said anything about him too.”

He sighed and shook his head before continuing. “If he gave Kasa-kun to you you’d probably crush him or launch him into a tree with your obnoxious strength or something. Sheesh, you reeeaaalllly tick me off sometimes.”

Madara hummed thoughtfully, eyes darting back and forth between the knight and his sniffling charge making Izumi feel slightly uncomfortable. He never really liked how much Mikejima hid things from everyone besides their king. It was unnerving how much the man knew how to dance around the conversation.

“If you have something to say, say it…” Izumi slowly brought Tsukasa down from his shoulder to cradle him protectively. “If we’re done I have other things to do today.”

“No, no it’s nothing. I was just thinking you changed a lot Izumi-san.” Brown boots, Izumi scrunched his face distastefully at them, paraded over to the man to peek at Tsukasa. Slowly and steadily, Tsukasa turned his head towards him but surprisingly didn’t start crying again. “Izumi-san’s always so hissy, just like a cat. Mama’s glad he found someone to protect. Good boy, good boy~♪”

He bent over some more; bright teal eyes sparkled playfully at amethysts before large fingers tapped the baby’s nose gently, receiving a small sniffle from Tsukasa. “See? Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. There’s nothing to be afraid of~♪”

It became pleasantly quiet before Madara broke the silence again. “Did you hear Izumi-san?” The silver haired knight tore his vision away from those god awful shoes to watch Tsukasa hesitantly grabbed at Madara’s hand. His tiny fingers could barely even wrap around his index. “I hear there’s going to be a festival soon!”

“Uhm yeah, I heard Morisawa is in charge of it this time.” Izumi responded slowly. He vaguely remembered reading that in the note Leo left. “Ousama was glad they landed in port and they were really adamant on hosting it so he let them plan it. Why?”

“Yuuup, I really love them~ Festivals too of course,” he wiggled his finger in the baby’s grasp and managed to tap Tsukasa on the nose again with it. This time the little red head sneezed, nose still slightly pink from crying. “I’m in stormy seas with one of them, but if Chiaki-san is in charge then mama has no worries~☆”

Madara threw his red scarf over his shoulder and hoisted the bag Izumi gave to him over his shoulders effortlessly. The knight rolled his eyes when the giant managed to get the baby to let go of his hand and blew small kisses at him.

“I better get going then. Leo-san promised I could help with the set up tomorrow and I don’t want to keep you here all day, bugs and all.” He winked, “Goodbye Izumi-san, Tsukasa-san. Mama will see you both lateeerrrr~☆”

And as quickly as he appeared the brunet vanished into the trees before either Izumi or Tsukasa could get a farewell in.

“Sheesh, I don’t think I’ll _ever_ understand that guy…” Izumi grumbled.

Glassy purple eyes looked at Izumi and then back to the foliage the gentle giant disappeared into. At a certain point he could almost feel the falling stars bounce off of Madara like the warm sea captain Izumi was friends with. An occasional hiccup escaped his mouth as everything around him calmed down and Tsukasa went back to burying his face into Izumi’s chest.

Sighing, the silver haired knight took off his gloves to wipe away any remaining tears on Tsukasa’s cheeks. Voice soft, Izumi lifted him up more and lightly rested his forehead against his charge’s in silent reassurance. “He means well, I suppose he’ll grow on you eventually. Ousama really likes him for some reason so as annoying as he is you’re probably going to see him again. Let’s continue going...”

Straightening out his clothes and bundling up the coat hanging over his arm Izumi allowed Tsukasa’s tiny hands to coddle the fabric. Immediately the baby started twirling the shiny gold ribbons and Izumi kept his smile to himself.

‘ _Soooo predictable_ ,’ Izumi reached up to tuck some hair behind his ear and sighed. Maybe he can try and ask a certain doll fanatic to make something similar for Tsukasa later. He has a really strange obsession with dress-up after all…

They both continued on towards the castle quietly until Izumi could see the navy banners at the gate. He let out a sigh in relief. It’s been a couple of hours, treading through burning sunlight and meeting brown haired giants since they left their home but they finally made it. Footsteps sped up making the sound of crunching leaves louder beneath his feet.

He was still a little worried about what Madara said earlier when he handed him the bag though. Was there something happening in neighboring towns he didn’t know about? Surely word would have reached him because of his connections, but ever since he left a few months ago it’s been supposedly calm. If trouble reached the castle before him then…

Leo never said anything about it so he probably still had some time left. Izumi ran a hand through his hair frustrated. How long has it been since Leo and Madara started their ‘adventurous’ jobs? This was why he hated it whenever he had to meet that festival freak; he was getting worked up over something he didn’t know where to start from.

While Izumi continued to fume Tsukasa stared into the darkness of the forest behind them, the gentle giant still lingered in his thoughts even though the warmth of his hands were gone.

It was curious why the larger man darted back into the trees instead of the path he and Izumi came from, but there were probably other ways to get out of the forest even Izumi didn’t know of.

What was also interesting was although it was littered with a few splotches of light, amethyst eyes occasionally caught a glimpse of red or gold in the distance. Maybe even the sound of laughter?

Tsukasa felt Izumi pull his hood over his head and rested his hands on his back softly. His eyes were still puffy and he was beginning to realize how tired he was from crying. Since his guardian never commented on it maybe it was just a bird or small animal. Hiding his face into the silver haired knight’s shoulder Tsukasa fell asleep.

He never saw the sharp blue eyes that routinely glanced behind them.

 

* * *

 

“Oshi-san, we got customers-!”

Tsukasa slowly blinked himself awake when he heard Mika. The lanky teen was holding open the door to a well-kept building they walked up to and knocked on, topaz and sapphire eyes widening in surprise. “Oh, Oshi-san was waitin’ fer ya! Welcome~”

Thin fingers clenched the antique door handle nervously. “Uhhmm, but could ya wait a little while I tidy up the place? I’ll go get some tea ready too.”

Stepping inside Izumi made his way to the window and took a seat on an ornate couch. Sinking into the plush cushions he quietly watched Mika bustled around the room.

Tsukasa, eyes wide open had more time to look around the store as the teen started putting away large bolts of fabric. Noticing he was awake the silver haired knight set him down next to him, bringing an embroidered pillow close to let the baby lean against it.

The entire store had a strange combination of rotating clockwork and pristine rococo furniture. All in either a deep red or black, trimmed with gold. Flags and ribbons were strewn about artfully, but more importantly were the beautiful dresses on display and antique dolls lined up against the walls. It was like a museum. Tsukasa was staring at some golden rose bouquets and flickering oil lamps before he heard a noise come from the back.

“Kagehira, what did I say about greeting customers like that? This is a tailor’s, not an eatery.” A tall pink haired man stood in the doorway, arms crossed and a deep frown engraved on his face. Sharp azure eyes darted quickly between the baby and the knight before asking, “Sena? What, so you _did_ show up?”

“I promised I would drop in soon Itsuki,” the knight shrugged. Tsukasa waved shyly from his seat at his guardian’s acquaintance. He wasn’t sure if this new figure was more or less dangerous than the last one they met in the forest, but Izumi would be damned if he didn’t show any manners this time. “Ousama said he sent in an order a while ago but I have another one for you if it’s not enough.”

Shu raised a sharp eyebrow, “It’s not for you is it?”

“No, it’s for him again,” Izumi nonchalantly leaned over to stop Tsukasa from toppling onto the couch cushions and grabbed another pillow to prop him against it. “I have enough clothes to last me a while.”

“A shame, but no lost there. You and that Tsukinaga enjoy working me to the bone,” Shu grumbled before walking over, steps clean and rhythmic like a metronome. “At least let me see what I’m working with, it’s rare for me to make clothes for an infant– Kagehira.”

“Oshi-san?”

“Bring out the box I left in the back, we’ll need to make some adjustments. It should have a ribbon tied onto it.”

“Got it!”

As Mika shuffled behind the counter Shu headed towards Tsukasa. Instead of being scared like Izumi thought he would be, purple eyes stared mesmerized at what the tall man wore. The clothes he was wearing put some of the things the knight had to shame. And probably for good reason since his job was making clothes.

Shu had a perfectly tailored jacket with gold trimmings bordering the collar and sleeves. Delicate threads were sewn in carefully and braided without a single strand out of place. He also had a finely tied cravat, dark red lace secured over a brighter piece of red silk and a pin that looked like a clock gear clasping it in place.

The outfit reminded him of something Leo wore once. His memory was a bit blurry but he remembered Leo’s outfit was dark blue, almost black, like Izumi’s and had the same amount of ribbons. This one was burgundy and it had a lot more lace, ruffles, _embroidery_.

Tsukasa tilted his head. Leo might look weird if his outfit had the same amount of frills.

Mechanical-looking accents reminded the baby of butterflies (Tsukasa tried not to remember those fond memories with bugs), gear-like but still delicate. And even though the tailcoat was beautiful, fluttering dramatically behind Shu like wings, purple eyes were captivated by the tall top hat with a velvety ribbon tied around it. That bow looked really fun to play with it…

Actually, now that he had a better look at him, there was something else poking up from the tailor’s hat. They kind of reminded him of… horns?

“ _Mon dieu_! You carried him around like this?”

Tsukasa stiffened when everyone’s attention turned to him. He looked down at his nightclothes and the bright red hood Leo got for him he was still wearing in confusion. His small feet were covered by tiny booties Izumi knitted for him and he wiggled his toes contently. He thought he looked alright…

Izumi crossed his legs and leaned back in his seat. “Why else do you think we ordered clothes for him? He doesn’t have anything else to wear.”

Shu’s eyes flitted to the side (as if he had to be told that) and knelt down on one knee in front of Tsukasa. Gloved hands hovered near his sides but not close enough to touch him, azure eyes silently asking if he could lift him. The baby slowly raised his arms, surprised by how gently the pink haired man picked him up. Oh, now that he got a closer look there _were_ horns on his hat. Now to figure out if they were real or not…

“Hnn, I wouldn’t say he’s as beautiful as you but…” The pink haired man ignored how the baby’s fingers gripped the rim of his hat. “He does have potential though.”

“Kasa-kun has a lot more time to grow, but thank you?”

The taller man nodded before walking over to a table and deliberated whether to put the baby down on a chair or not. Figuring he didn’t want to risk Tsukasa falling over (if he remembered correctly the baby had a hard time sitting up on the couch) Shu decided the table was best.

Mika popped over and set the box down next to him, Tsukasa sat up tall when he opened it. He was about to pick out something until a small blonde (doll?) peeked out.

“Ah, Mado-nee what’re ya doin’ in there?”

Shu pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, Tsukasa could almost hear some gears turning. “Mademoiselle I thought I told you _not_ to hide in the customers commissions.”

“Fufu, I’m sorry Mika-chan, Shu-kun. I was just finishing a few stitches but somehow ended up taking nap.” The antique doll giggled and slowly climbed out of the box. Tsukasa watched in awe as she gracefully waltzed over to him, puppet string surprisingly missing porcelain hands daintily resting on his arms softly. “Now here is a rare customer. Come little one, let’s get you changed.”

The little red head stared in amazement as he watched the doll politely give directions to people who were much larger than her with ease. “Mika-chan, can you help me? Shu-kun needs to go talk to the Knight in privacy over there.”

Dual colored eyes blinked a few times before Mika nodded in agreement. Tsukasa sat wide-eyed, letting the animate doll circle him a few times before humming in approval. Izumi stood up to walk over to Shu listening to soft giggles and praises coming from the other two dressmakers as they fitted his charge, “Alright, Tsukasa-kun try’n copy me! Arms up like this, jus' like a scarecrow~♪”

Izumi rested his teacup on its plate, the porcelain cup made a clinking noise when it was set back on a tray. “So what did ousama order for him?”

Shu clicked his tongue, fingers lingering over bolts of silk before responding, “Nothing too difficult.” He scanned the wall for a bit before deciding on a roll of navy blue velvet and laid it on the counter. A spool of white lace was placed on the fabric as well making ripples like the ocean. “It was something I made before, just smaller. That blasted Tsukinaga thought it would be funny if they matched…”

The silver haired knight looked up from the cloth over to the makeshift fitting table to see Tsukasa sitting in a loose black shirt sucking on candy Mika probably gave him. Mademoiselle was holding a blue tunic in her small hands, unlatching a few straps in front of it while Mika was trying to see if small brown boots would fit on his feet.

“He didn’t…?”

“He did.”

Izumi groaned, of course that stupid king would do something like this. “Please tell me that’s all he wanted, or did you make more?”

“Despite being a bratty kid he actually gave me free reign over the other outfits, so...” Shu brought out another box. It wasn’t as nicely wrapped as the first one but it was still perfectly well-kept, and certainly bigger. “I don’t usually make clothes for children but it was an experience worth having.”

“Hmm? Let’s see, let’s see...”

Izumi peeked into the box feeling azure eyes on him the whole time. He could pick out a few shirts and ribbons that were folded nicely and flexible for a growing baby. Socks, pants, even a tiny hat rested in the box. It was silent between the two before he looked back up noticing what took up majority of the contents of the box. “I don’t want to point out the obvious, but you made _a lot_ of shorts you know?”

“…”

“…?”

“Are you questioning my artistry Sena?”

“Uhh, no but,” Izumi felt his eye twitch. “It’s going to be fall soon, why didn’t you make him something warmer? I don’t want my charge freezing to death in the winter-urk!!”

He stared down at a pair of white tights thrown at him. “Did you seriously just throw this at me?”

“ _Non_ , I merely gave you what was requested.”

Izumi stared at the tiny stockings in his hands and then at Tsukasa who peered over at him. He now had a warm grey cape on underneath a matching scarf. It was draped over the blue tunic Mademoiselle was holding earlier, a cotton linen shirt tucked beneath it. It matched the little red head pretty well– but then he remembered the garment in his hands. “I’m not making him wear this.”

“You had no problem wearing them yourself…” Shu briefly gave Izumi a once over, “You looked really nice in them too.”

“That was like one time-!”

“Kakaka, say that when I see you in a few months.”

He watched the man grin smugly to himself and immediately brushed off memories of rapiers and painful stretching practices. “Hah? What do you mean by that-?”

“Oshi-san we need to hem this up a little, do ya have scissors on ya?” Mika bumbled over holding another pair of white stockings. “Mado-nee tried rolling them, but it was too bulky to fit in the boots.”

“I’ll be over to fix it. Grab the other ones while you’re at it Kagehira. We’ll finish hemming and make them perfect before the days done.” Shu headed towards the table leaving Izumi staring incredulously at the three artisans fixing his charges outfit.

‘Are you _kidding_ me?’ 

 

“~♪,” Tsukasa was standing up (with the help of Mika) to show off his new clothes. The blue of his outfit clashed with the burgundy in the entire store but it was still Shu’s work, so it was nothing less than perfect.

Mademoiselle cooed at the baby, flitting around him excitedly making sure everything was in place. No seams were loose and the cape draped over his back nicely making the doll nod in approval.

“Everything looks good Tsukasa-chan, we even managed to finish arranging the rest of your outfits in the box too. I wish we had more to dress you up in but I’m sure we can think of something.”

He’d been sitting for as long as the sun’s been in the sky but even Izumi had to admit the cursed white tights looked rather tasteful compared to the small trousers Shu pulled out of nowhere as well. They all unanimously decided to come up with an outfit that would look better with them at a later date.

Poking Tsukasa’s squishy cheeks the baby smiled at his guardian brightly, enjoying the feel of shoes on his feet and scarf snug around his neck. It was the first time he actually got to wear something other than his sleeping clothes and he was going to treasure it dearly.

The knight picked up Tsukasa while Mika carried the other boxes of clothes in his arms. “I can walk ya out, Oshi-san said he’s gonna stay here since he’s got more work. Plus I got somethin’ to do anyways~♪”

“You’ve been yapping a lot today Kagehira, when were you this talkative?” Shu was finishing rolling up a spool of thread Mademoiselle was holding for him, and clicked his tongue. “Did I forget to do maintenance on you last night?”

“Nngah, it’s not that you forgot, but I promised Nazuna-nii I would help’m with a show so I gotta get goin before I’m late...”

Shu stopped and stared at the lanky teen, “You’re going to see Nito?”

“Nnnn, n-no?” Mika hurried out the door, pushing Izumi with him through the doorframe as he stuttered, “B-bye Oshi-san, I’ll be back b‘fore dinner!”

The door to the shop slammed closed and Tsukasa watched the tiny blonde doll pop up and wave from the window as they left.

He hummed to himself. The pretty doll who could move on her own and Mika’s Oshi-san with the funny horns sticking out of his hat were pleasant compared to a few he met already. Shu also made really nice clothes and even gave him a ribbon to play with when Izumi finally put on his jacket.

Tsukasa remembered seeing a sparkly blue gown before they were escorted out of the store by the sapphire and topaz eyed teen, wishing he could see more of it. Silver accents and layers of fabric all in different shades of blue were alluring and made him think of the Knight carrying him right now. Did the small doll say something about Izumi being his muse for it while he was being dressed?

Watching the baby delight himself in whatever he was thinking about Izumi watched Mika ahead of them make his way briskly towards the middle of town.

“I thought you worked at that sugar stall, do you have more than one job?”

Blue and gold eyes turned around and a small smile graced the teens face when he nodded. “Nnn, that’s right.”

Mika’s feet slowed and Izumi was soon striding along at the same pace as him.

“Y’know, Oshi-san doesn’ get much business even b’fore we moved here. The only jobs he gets are from the king or people at the palace.” Mika shrugs and looks around the marketplace they were entering. It was obvious majority of the population couldn’t afford a fully custom tailored outfit, so alternatives were fabrics from the busy shopping district and cheaper wear from vendors. What a shame, Itsuki always made the best clothes.

“The pays good whenever ya buy from us, ya tip us generously. But it’s always nice to have a little spendin’ money so I picked up some part time jobs to treat us to some croissants or new sewin’ needles~” Izumi thought he could see flowers bounce off Mika’s head, hair fluffy like the cuddliest stuffed animal. “Ah, but I also give some to Nazuna-nii, the church always needs donations after all.”

Speaking of Nazuna the two made it to the fountain where they met Chiaki and Kanata a few days ago.

Tsukasa lifted his head at the new name. Whoever ‘Nazuna-nii’ was he sounded like someone Mika really loved, maybe as much as he loved his Oshi-san.

Noticing they stopped somewhere familiar, amethyst eyes landed on a box-like stage set up near the fountain. A small blue haired boy was helping another blond (boy?) adjust curtains to an open ‘window.’ Two other babies were sitting near the fountain next to a box of props and puppets. A scruffy, brown haired toddler was being held by the hem of his pants by another baby with lighter brown hair. He looked like he really wanted to run around.

“Nazuna-nii, I’m here!”

The blond looked up from the makeshift theatre (Tsukasa thought he heard Izumi mention it was for puppet shows) and waved happily. “Mika-chin, you made it! Hajime-chin, do you think you can handle it from here?” He brushed dirt off his pants and walked towards the three of them, hopping over a grumpy baby who looked like he was getting tired of his friend trying to wiggle away from him.

“Sorry I’m late, I was help’n Oshi-san with an order and we lost track of time.”

“No-no, we just started setting up so Mika-chin doesn’t need to be sorry,” the shorter boy reassured hastily. He had an uneven haircut and bright, large red eyes that reminded Tsukasa of a rabbit. “Tomoya-chin is also getting better at keeping Mitsuru-chin still so we haven’t run into any problems yet.”

He heard a small grumble from the lighter brown haired boy, presumably Tomoya, and Tsukasa watched the baby reprimand the toddler with a spoon in his hands. Nazuna turned away from them, jumping when he recognized who else was with them. “Uwah!! Izumi-chin’s here to- I didn’t know yew wer coming-!!”

“Good to see you’re the same Nazunyan,” Izumi greeted haughtily, shifting Tsukasa over to his right to rest his left hand on his hip. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since Valentines.”

“Unnya! Don’t make fun of me! I’ll have you know I grew a lot shince then!” Nazuna felt his cheeks burn. He slapped them a few times regaining his composure. “Nnn, you seem like you’re doing well Izumi-chin, you’re never this happy.”

“Haah? I’m always happy.” Izumi managed to pull the scarf Tsukasa was chewing on out of his mouth. He poked his cheeks lightly in warning. “If anything it’s rare seeing you out in public. What, is the church getting too spooky for you? I told you to tighten security since Chia-kun’s mermaid made a vacation home out of your fountain.”

“Well, maybe I like taking my kids out from that stuffy building sometimes.” Nazuna straightened up and motioned for Izumi to come closer.

The silver haired knight decided to humor him and leaned over. He handed Tsukasa over to Mika later and the two were sitting on the ground with the other kids.

“Actually Izumi-chin, I’ve been meaning to ask you but do you know the captain of Leo-chin’s third division?”

Izumi shook his head, “I talk to Morisawa more, but his vice is really friendly with him, why?”

“Kanata-chin huh… then I guess I’ll have to ask him when he drops by.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Did something happen? I hear that guy has a silver tongue you know.”

It was Nazuna’s turn to shake his head, “Nothing too serious. The kids have been saying something about ghosts and monsters lately back home, but I’ll message you if things start flying around.”

The blond looked over to the fountain to see Mika holding two hand sewn dolls he pulled out from the box. He was drawing a lot of attention as he told the small group of children a story about some contest between a girl and a mirror. It was cute seeing him smile more in public then before.

“I’ve been wondering since you got here actually, but who’s the little guy?” Nazuna pointed towards Tsukasa sitting next to Tomoya.

The two looked like they got along well. Tomoya was admiring the pretty straps on Tsukasa’s outfit while the other stared curiously at the silver spoon in his hand. The toddler sitting next to them was trying to join in their intrigue as well but ultimately found more entertainment in the story Mika was telling instead.

“Who, Kasa-kun? He’s from the border you know.” Icy blue eyes softened, “It’s been a couple months since he was left with me so it’s good he can finally meet brats his age.”

“Well my kids are great after all~” Nazuna said proudly. Red eye’s caught the tenderness in the knight’s eyes and felt a smile making its way to his lips cheekily. Just think, this is the same guy who scowled at everyone not even a year ago at their king’s inauguration. He should invite Tsukasa to the church for a playdate sometime soon.

As he was about to open his mouth again there was a loud crash and the tiny toddler Tomoya was trying to hold down earlier was dashing around the fountain. Mika dodged the two-year old and was holding up Tsukasa to prevent him from getting run over while Hajime tried to keep the theatre from falling over every time Mitsuru made a lap. Tomoya was lying flat on the floor in resignation, spoon clenched in his hands like a final prayer. Izumi thought it looked like a crime scene.

“Yeeaahh, I’m just gonna let you fix that…” the silver haired knight picked up the boxes Mika set down earlier and turned around to leave. The dark haired teen handed Tsukasa back to him and waved a small goodbye to the baby before going back to the flustered kids. “I’ll drop by the church if your haunting problem gets worse. Bye Nazunya~”

“Don’t just leave me with thish mess Izumi-chin!”

 

* * *

 

Leo’s castle, or the ‘Lion’s Castle’ as it was called in good humor looked pure white.

It was still relatively new so there was no wear on the walls or corrosion from the weather. The roofs were black with navy banners and white flags flew high over towers with intricate silver and gold accents. There were even cascading staircases outside the castle, spiraling near the entrance like a ballroom. Roses littered the balconies and pathways, bright red petals like a carpet wherever visitors could walk and the castle caught enough light not to be blinding but elegant.

Purple eyes moved around trying to take in all the sights as Izumi walked up to the entrance.

A few guards gave them surprised looks but no one stopped the silver haired knight from making his way into the throne room. Feet stopped on plush navy carpets and sharp eyes scanned the room briefly.

It was empty, which was to be expected considering the errand he ran earlier. Izumi sighed and walked around the room to show the baby around, letting him point to whatever he wanted to see and took him to it. Tsukasa made a sound when he saw the throne at the far end of the room and Izumi explained their king would usually sit there, but at this point having it was a formality since Leo never liked to use it anyways.

There were the same navy and white banners in the room like the flags that decorated the balconies outside, but unlike the ones blowing out of reach in the wind, these had numerous wrinkles and scribbles on them. Staffs, notes, time signatures, it was obvious no one had time to change the fabric Leo wrote over (Or they pretty much gave up at this point).

Tsukasa was about to point in the direction of a few instruments towards the corner of the room before a familiar voice caught his ears.

“Arara, you made it Izumi-chan, Tsukasa-chan.” Arashi stood in a doorway, leaning against the archway munching on something brown. It smelled really sweet and Tsukasa wanted to try a bite. “I didn’t expect to see you for another few days. I would’ve saved a piece for you.”

“You really need to stop eating so much sugar.” Izumi pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to move Tsukasa’s attention away from the chocolate cake before he started throwing a tantrum. “Is this how you greet your guests now that I left?”

A melodic laugh filled the room, “Well ousama is still out gallivanting so you’re welcome to re-enter for a proper greeting when the Emperor comes by tonight, just let me finish my cake~♪”

Izumi sighed and diverted his eyes out the window. The sun wasn’t quite setting yet so he still had a few more hours left to show his charge one last place.

“Kuma-kun isn’t around is he?”

Arashi tilted his head thoughtfully, tapping the fork on his lips gently. “I haven’t seen him since last night so, no– I don’t think he is.”

“Good, Kasa-kun and I are going to head to the library then.”

Tsukasa hummed when he heard Izumi say his name but went back to staring at Arashi. His wings were as pretty as ever, pure white with a few spotted sections underneath. And even though he saw them already, he could still stare at them forever. It was probably because the other knight had time to groom his feathers, so not a single one was out of place. Arashi cooed at him after finishing his treat and lifted Tsukasa out of Izumi’s arms ignoring his protests.

“I’ll have someone fix up a room for you two tonight,” the owl cradled the happy baby before motioning to another doorway at the other side of the room. “You’ll want to head in that direction for the library. His majesty’s philosopher likes moving the entrance all over the place lately, but last time Mika-chan came over it was over there. I honestly don’t blame him with what he has to deal with.”

The blond nuzzled his nose to Tsukasa before handing him back to Izumi. “I’ll see you later Tsukasa-chan, remember that big sis is always around to take care of you during your stay. Don’t let this meanie keep you all to himself~♪”

“Wha-!?” Izumi spluttered but Arashi was already out the door. “That bird brain… C’mon Kasa-kun, we have one more place to go that I know you’ll like.”

Big purple eyes blinked slowly before the pair moved to the other side of the room. Tsukasa could feel his stomach rumble.

 _Chocolate cake_ …

 

* * *

 

Footsteps echoed through the long hallway as Izumi and Tsukasa approached large wooden doors at the end of them. The sun was setting now, casting a warm orange through the windows as it made its descent to the horizon.

When they reached the doors Tsukasa’s eyes widened when he saw the entrance up close. They were carved beautifully with unusual swirls and images he’s never seen towards the center. Large vines creeped near the edges and coiled inwards like an iron gate, lines that looked like things in Izumi’s books decorated the border intricately. When he ran his fingers over the shapes, the grooves in the wood were smooth and cool to the touch. It was almost as if they were alive in some way.

Before the knight could reach for the heavy iron handle the doors opened on their own revealing a large spacious library. The room’s tall walls were adorned in similar carvings and were covered with either books or papers. A large glass window ahead of them let in any remaining sunlight in place of a ceiling, and it looked like there were multiple floors to explore considering the amount of balconies and staircases scattered around the room.

Oh, but the books.

There were so many books whether they were tightly packed onto shelves, under staircases and chairs, and sitting open on tables. There were ten, maybe even a hundred times more strewn about on the floor making it hard to walk around.

Izumi jumped over a few stacks that blocked off an aisle and looked for an open table or chair to sit at. Tsukasa hummed happily in his arms, eyes sparkling and feet wiggling. He could almost feel the pages turn under his fingertips and smell the ink and paper in front of him.

Tiny white flowers (Bellflowers and morning glories Izumi dully noted) decorated the old wooden bookcases giving off a dim glow and dark green leaves hung from ornate iron hooks. Latched onto them were colorful glass lanterns that glowed like candles in the sunset.

“Usually it’ll be cleaner than this,” Tsukasa heard Izumi grumble. The knight and his charge took in a deep breath at the same time and exhaled. There was no denying the smell of books was therapeutic, especially when sunlight filtered through the windows creating a relaxing ambience.

Picking up a book from a nearby stack Izumi sat down in a plush chair, Tsukasa wiggling his way onto his laps comfortably before plopping himself down on the knight’s lap. He was secretly glad Tsukasa appreciated texts as much as he did, Leo and Arashi never liked sitting for long periods of time so it was nice to have someone else keep him company, even if they were a baby.

“I don’t remember seeing a lot of picture books, but I’m sure we could find something for you…”

After a few minutes they were engrossed in a book together when the moon began making its way across the sky. It was when Tsukasa had his eyes glued to whatever Izumi was reading to him, tiny hands resting on the book in his lap, that Izumi noticed something similar to candlelight move towards them.

“Uwah, its Sena-kun– I didn’t expect anyone to be here this late.”

Izumi turns his head towards the soft voice, hand holding a page midway before moving up to brush a few locks of silver away from his face. Tsukasa looks up from a picture of a blue bird as well to see a tall, bespectacled man standing a few bookcases away from them. He glances at Izumi and then to the other man again, tilting his head curiously.

The stranger’s back was to a window, moonlight illuminating his dark blue hair behind him. His long curly strands were tied together in a small side ponytail with a maroon ribbon and clip embedded with a small blue stone to hold it in place. Light blue highlights framed the right side of his face but the front of his bangs were tinted a dull red due to the small glass lantern he held in his hand.

Tsukasa looked down at his clothes and recognized the emblem and embroidery decorating his cape as the same ones covering the large wooden doors earlier. The librarian ducked his head in greeting. Amethyst eyes caught a glint of starlight fall from his hair.

“It’s been awhile since you visited Sena-kun. Nobody comes here unless they want to nap or need to sneak out,” Izumi raised an eyebrow at that. “But now all of a sudden we have guests to entertain~ I’d usually offer something to drink but I only have hot cocoa.”

He scratched his cheek shyly. A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he set the lamp down on the table closest to him, “The stars weren’t so favorable with 'Leo' today so maybe I should increase the amount of diamond dust in my spell next time.” the blue haired man trailed off. Olive eyes darted to the large wooden doors where two blue birds sat on the iron locks and chirped happily.

“Well, I guess you could say you surprised me too,” Izumi responded carefully. Tsumugi wasn’t weak of heart but the poor thing looked like he had enough demons haunting him. He decided to close the book he was reading, receiving a discontent whine from Tsukasa.

Before the baby got too upset another small blue bird flew onto the cover, wings made of light and nestled itself on the book. Amethyst eyes stared at it for a few seconds before the knight reassured him it was okay to pet it. When Tsukasa’s hands went through the translucent sapphire wings and crystal blue feathers he looked back at him confused.

Izumi patted his head gently, fixing a few strands of hair that were out of place before continuing. “I should’ve noticed your familiars flapping around the shelves over there, they’re kinda hard to keep track of.”

Blue eyes darted around the room. “Is Hasumi too busy to clean up this place up or something Aoba? It’s a mess.”

Tsumugi groaned. “I get enough lectures from Keito about that Sena-kun. I don’t need any more from you...”

He takes a seat on some books and rests his hands on the pile anxiously. “If you want to know, ever since we sent our ambassador to Eichi’s he’s been on edge the last few months. Usually I have an apprentice help me with organizing and cleaning but Keito just sent him off to receive some guests.”

Olive eyes moved to one of the balconies where a few immaculate carved doors were standing. “Not only has he been locking himself in his study but he nags me whenever I hand in reports.” He takes a deep breath in. “I haaaattttee iiittt! I hate constantly getting lectured by him every day!”

The lamps in the library flickered once before they completely turned on. The large cold library was now dyed in warm oranges and bright yellows, casting shadows from the vast amount of bookshelves on the floor. Three pairs of eyes immediately turned to the balcony where the lights originated from to see a scholarly looking man. He was pinching the bridge of his nose, obviously irritated, and was holding a large quill in his hand. “Could you stop whining Aoba? It’s one thing to gossip with your friends but acting like that is unsightly.”

“Eheheh, Keito really likes to show off doesn’t he?”

“Shut up Aoba.”

Izumi stood up before carefully making sure Tsukasa was leaning against the chair away from the edge. He watched the blue haired magician bound over to knell in front of his seat, cooing and dangling various charms in front of the baby that jingled every time they were poked and played with. The other magik user on the balcony let out a sigh, knowing his criticism fell on deaf ears.

Deciding the magician was going to keep his charge entertained for a bit longer, the silver haired knight looks over to the sage and smirks. “Glad to see your leopard-wearing face again Hasumi. Don’t tell me it’s the reason why your library’s a mess.”

“We’re understaffed Sena,” was the only thing Keito said before he came down the stairs. Izumi noticed his dark green hair was sticking up all over the place and yellow-green eyes were surrounded by dark circles before raising an eyebrow. He looked like he didn’t sleep for weeks.

“Ask ousama for more help then,” Izumi pointedly looked towards Tsumugi who was now playing peek-a-boo with a friendly smile. Tsukasa’s loud giggles echoed throughout the empty library eerily. “Your librarian’s stressed. Actually, I can see both of you have too much on your plates.”

“We do, but we at least have someone helping out in our archives.” Tsumugi chimed in. Tsukasa was currently in his arms, drooling on a tag from his hat.

He frowned, “Archives? We have one of those?”

A blue bird landed in Tsumugi’s nest of blue hair and vanished in a shower of stardust, “Oh yeah, Sena-kun doesn’t know this but we have a secret room underneath the library that leads into town. It’s useful magik but Keito doesn’t like telling anyone since it’ll be bad if any thieves found out about it.”

“It’s not a secret if you keep telling everyone about it,” Keito brought his hands up and comically zipped Tsumugi’s mouth shut. Izumi had to bring a hand up to his lips to prevent a laugh from escaping. “At least we can trust Sena not to take advantage of it. We already have a few who do.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll only drop in more to borrow more books,” the knight waved his hand leisurely, “I’ve been running out of things to read at home, plus Kasa-kun really likes them.”

Keito stood up straight and walked over to examine the baby still in Tsumugi’s hands. Dispelling the zipper on the magician’s mouth he stared long and hard at the little red head before nodding his head. “There’s no magik potential I can sense in him but he’ll still grow up well in your care. We don’t prioritize stocking children’s books but I think we have a small section around here somewhere…”

Catching his breath after nearly suffocating, olive eyes sparkled joyously at the other two adults in the room. “So Tsukasa-kun likes books too? Waah, the smell of them is the best isn’t it!?” He took a deep breath in and sighed happily, hints of vanilla from aged ink and paper filled the air.

“Nnn, but nothing’s better then turning those delicate pages sitting by the fireplace right? Mika-kun and I used to do that a lot with Keito’s old works when it’s cold-ouch!”

“So that’s what the story he was telling outside was…” Izumi vaguely remembers the teen telling some kind of reedition of a fairytale to the kids while he was talking to Nazuna. “Hasumi, you wrote that?”

“WHAT!?”

The other two men in the room jumped, excluding Tsukasa who only tilted his head confused at the monocle-wearing man. That dark blue tassel on his hat made him want to grab it.

Keito was about to start lecturing them before a knock came from the door. All eyes were on the heavy wooden doors when Arashi poked his head in.

“Sorry to bother you while you’re working, but is Izumi-chan still here?”

Purple eyes found the silver haired knight looking like he wanted to make a beeline to the exit and raised an eyebrow. “Did I come in at a bad time?”

“No, no, no.” Tsumugi and Izumi shook their heads, the magician a lot more urgently before looking at the owl nervously. “What is Narukami-kun doing here? It’s getting rather late, but do you need to go out for something?”

Arashi smiled and shook his head as well, “I actually need Izumi-chan to come with me, our _guests_ arrived but ousama is not back yet so we need someone to stand in to represent him.”

Now it was Izumi’s turn to look more confused, “I’m retired. I don’t have the right nor the status to stand in for ousama. Find Kuma-kun if you need someone with you to greet them.”

A large grin graced the owls face when he held up a sheet of paper. It was covered in music notes and doodles of…cats? But that wasn’t the problem – it was what was written on it. “That’s not what it says here, ousama wrote in your agreement that if he wasn’t around to do ‘kingly’ duties it’ll fall to you temporarily if you’re in the castle. Your signature is right here so retired or not you’re coming with me.”

The taller knight strutted into the room and grabbed Izumi by the wrist to lead him out the door.

“Wha-? But Kasa-kun,” Izumi couldn’t believe this was happening. Turning around he saw Tsukasa waving goodbye to him, courtesy of Tsumugi who looked a little anxious carrying him. _That brat._

“We can take care of him while you do that, right Keito?” Tsumugi glanced over to Keito who was having fun with how the situation was turning out.

“It should be fine,” Keito replied and soon enough the two knights were out the door leaving the two sorcerers in the library with the baby.

There was a comfortable silence before Keito moved towards the stairs and started climbing them.

“I still have some work to do so I’ll spare you the lecture for later.” He heard a sigh come from Tsumugi when he reached the top but stopped and lifted his quill. The nib started to turn gold when he raised it and started writing in the air. “I do have something for our guest though.”

A few words flew off into different directions of the library and Tsukasa watched as they disappeared behind bookshelves. A few attached themselves to spines that were close by but the large bulk was nowhere in sight.

“That should help you find some books he’ll be interested in, other than that get back to work. Our apprentice should be coming back soon so you’ll have another pair of hands to help you clean. Until then don’t waste any more time.”

“I will.” Tsumugi nodded excitedly, fixing the dark blue cloak that hung over his shoulders. With Tsukasa in his arms he turned back around to see the head librarian about to disappear into his room again.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this Keito, but who are the guests they have to welcome? Are they nobles? Merchants?”

Keito stopped in the doorway, hands clenching the frame tightly. “No one important Aoba. Don’t let it bother you too much.” And the door closed leaving Tsumugi alone with Tsukasa in the library.

“Well I guess it’s just you and me for now,” the blue haired man gently smiled and walked towards the lantern on the table he had earlier. The glow was dim like a dying candle but once he picked it up the light grew brighter, adding a tinge of red to the already golden light in the room.

“I actually help take care of a small one downstairs so it might not be smart to take you to the top floor where it’s dark. I wouldn’t want you getting scared after all.” Tsumugi waved his hand towards a stack of books that levitated towards them.

“For now I’ll take you with me to put these away. If you want to stop anywhere in here just let me know, okay Tsukasa-kun?”

Olive eyes looked down and saw Tsukasa stare in awe at the floating stack of boots. Tsumugi smiled and remembered this might be the first time the child ever saw magik in his life.

“Don’t be too impressed now – I can only do the textbook spells and read horoscopes. Keito’s magik is much cooler than mine. Plus there’s another magician I know who can do even better spells! He’s a little harsh so maybe I’ll introduce you to him later.”

As he said that a few books started to fit themselves into empty spaces on the shelves as he walked by them.

“Nnnn, not like he’ll be awake now that I think about it. He’s kind of like a cat so he falls asleep pretty easily, especially when the little one is with him.” Tsumugi brought a hand to his chin thinking.

He noticed Tsukasa started pulling on his shirt and stopped to see what was around that caught the baby’s attention. There was a book with a glowing spine laying on the floor near them so he picked it up and noticed it was a picture book. He held it up to the knight’s charge, the shape of the shining light was like a golden arrow.

“Would you like to look at this?”

The baby blinked several times but nonetheless looked intrigued.

Laughing softly Tsumugi set him down on the floor, looking for a blanket or pillow to lean against instead of a stack of books.

“I’ll let you flip through this then,” he waved his hand and a blue light appeared on the tip of his finger. He tapped the book and traced it up to Tsukasa’s nose and the line vanished into sparks. “There we go~ the pages should turn by themselves now whenever you want. It’s super handy when you have some hot cocoa in your hands~♪”

The magician let out a sigh when he saw a few more stacks of books on the ground and casted another spell to lift them up as well. “I’ll be back in a few minutes Tsukasa-kun, but I’ll leave a few of my familiars with you to keep you company.”

He whistled calling three to four birds flew over to land on the bookshelves and morning glories around the baby.

“Watch over him okay? If something happens let me know.”

Receiving a few chirps in unison Tsumugi patted the baby on the head before walking deeper into the library. The small blue birds started chirping a song and Tsukasa happily held the book in his lap like he did with Izumi earlier.

‘The Adventures of Robin Hood,’ Tsumugi thought to himself as he manually placed a few books on a shelf a few aisles away from where Tsukasa was sitting. Purple eyes sparkled brightly, enraptured by the colorful illustrations in the book.

‘How fitting, maybe Keito choose that book on purpose.’ The blue haired magician smiled to himself. Humming, he didn’t notice the shelf he was leaning against start to wobble.

Oh no.

 

* * *

 

Tsukasa jumped when he heard a loud thud echo throughout the room.

The bluebirds that took residence on his head flew off their perch and landed on top of a few nearby bookshelves chirping urgently. One flew in the direction of the loud sound and the other towards the front of the library, most likely to find that kind magician or serious looking librarian to figure out whatever caused that noise.

Peeking over a stack of books Tsukasa raised his arms to grab onto the edge of a shelf to help support him. It was quiet now, the moon above his head casted a strange glow through the bookshelves which made his eyes droop when he let out a tiny yawn.

Izumi wasn’t back yet so the loud noise couldn’t have come from the heavy doors they went through. He grips the shelf trying to steady his arms before scooting more towards the direction that ‘Mugi’ person went to. He stopped when amethyst eyes noticed a strange figure slumped against a bookshelf a few feet away.

Curious he urged himself to move closer, awkwardly scooting between book stacks and under a table. It wasn’t the blue haired librarian since this person had black hair and was wearing different clothes that were fancier and more of a deep purple then navy. Taking a deep breath Tsukasa wiggled close enough to see the man was still fast asleep.

He managed to plop himself down, using the stranger’s legs as a guide to sit comfortably on his lap in front of him before noticing something of interest. It was when he was playing with a few long purple ribbons that he didn’t notice glowing red eyes open slowly signalling the stranger was starting to wake up.

“Nnnggh, what’s this…?” Tsukasa sat up straight, entranced by the soft voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. Two bright ruby eyes were staring at him, noting a ribbon was being chewed on between his chubby cheeks. A baby?

“I thought I smelled something sweet…” the stranger rubbed his eyes and flashed a grin. Tsukasa froze when he saw sharp pointed fangs between pale lips. “So it was you?”

Their red eyes glanced towards the end of the aisle they were sitting in, the chirping of birds farther down the front of the library faint and still urgent. The man felt the baby shake in his lap so he lifted him up, purple eyes watery and lips trembling.

Tsukasa couldn’t even cry. Much less make a noise when the stranger picked him up. All he knew was this person, if he could even call him one, felt dangerous. Where was Izumi? Was he going to get eaten!?

“Hmm? What’s wrong, I’m not gonna eat you.” Tsukasa stiffened even more. He shifted the baby in his arms to his left and yawned. “I heard we were having guests over, but you don’t smell like Ecchan so…”

Droopy eyelids blinked a few times before the same grin that made Tsukasa shiver appeared again. “Secchan, huh? I see, I see. That makes a lot more sense.”

Tsukasa heard the dark haired man let out a sigh before cradling him playfully. “He’d get mad if I took a little sip but I’m sure a taste wouldn’t hurt… you smell so sweet~ and warm like a fluffy pillow~♪”

“I wouldn’t if I were you Rittsu, Sena has eyes everywhere.” The baby let put a tiny squeak when he heard that familiar voice but couldn’t move because the grip around him was too tight. “Plus Suo~ is young. You might… I don’t know- stunt his growth with your vampire pheromones or something.”

“Don’t ruin my fun ousama.” Ritsu turned his head to see the small king lugging what looked like a dead body through the aisles. “I haven’t drank anything in ages. You’re gonna have to take responsibility if I go on a murderous rampage you know.”

Leo shrugged before trying to remove the twigs in his hair, wiping away the small scratches and dirt on his cheeks. Having the large body dragged behind him made it a lot harder to clean up so he gave up leaving a few leaves on his head.

“Be a good kid Rittsu, come on~♪ Hand me Suo~ so I can return him to Sena.”

Looking closer it turned out it was Tsumugi who was being comically dragged on the floor and Tsukasa was never happier to see Leo and the librarian come to his rescue. Ritsu (if he heard his name correctly) brought him back down in his lap to hug him, resting his chin in the soft strands of his hair.

“Even if you ask nicely I’m not giving up suuchan Ousama. It’s your fault I’m the last knight to meet him. He's cute, let me spend more time with him.”

“Suo~ looks like he’s going to black out you know?”

“Now, now. Maybe we can work something out.” Tsumugi nervously looked up from the hold he was in. Leo has gotten pretty strong if the larger man was still being supported by his thin arms. “Let’s not cause any trouble if we can.”

“Obachan you were under a bookcase, if I didn’t find you you’d probably be mushed like a pancake! You cause the most trouble out of all of us hahaha~☆”

“Please don’t call me that, it makes me sound like an old lady…”

“Tsukinaga? You’re back?” All eyes turned towards Keito who was running towards them.

The small blue birds that were chirping earlier followed him urgently and landed on his head when he bent over to catch his breath. “Aoba’s familiars were at the front… they were making a lot of noise so I thought another bookcase fell on him.”

He stood up and grumpily looked at their orange haired king. “You’re late. Narukami came in earlier and had to take Sena to stand in for you. I don’t have any problem with you doing whatever you want in the library but even I can take care of this hopeless sheep when he gets trapped under books. Are you looking for a lecture?”

"Even if I don't ask for one I'm gonna get one anyway though." Leo grumbled.

“This happens frequently?” Ritsu raised an eyebrow and watched as Leo helped Tsumugi stand up and dust off his pants. He lifted his head from the little red head who was still trembling in his lap and unwrapped his arms around him so he could stand up.

“Wahaha~☆ It does!” Leo lunged forward and snatched Tsukasa from the vampire to twirl him around. Tsukasa let out a cheer in relief before he was thrusted towards Keito. A tiny squeak came from the baby when his eyes met the others yellow-green ones. “Hold him for me real fast Keito! I need to go change!”

It was only then that purple eyes actually looked at what the small king was wearing and for some reason it looked oddly familiar. Actually he could’ve sworn he saw something similar to it earlier today, but where…?

“I’m busy Tsukinaga, isn’t this why you left him with Sena in the first place-?”

“Shhh shhhh shhhhhh, don’t say anything. You’ll ruin my inspiration!” the small king was patting the grumpy vampire on the head soothingly. Ritsu swatted his hands away, upset his ‘heater’ was taken away and stubbornly looked away, ruby eyes staring out the window towards the bright moon outside.

Keito awkwardly held Tsukasa before looking towards Tsumugi who was making gestures to try and help him. He eventually gave up and used his right arm to hold the baby comfortably like he would a few stacks of books.

“Fine, just be back soon. It’s getting late and little ones his age shouldn’t be up this late.”

“Let’em sleep whenever he wants,” Leo skipped to the doors that led to the castle hall, the rest of them following him as they dodged books and manuscripts left on the floor with ease. “I have a blockhead to entertain so I’ll get Rittsu to call Sena to pick him up. He’s still looking at him like he’s cake.”

“Stop treating me like your messenger Ousama, that’s the owls job.” Ritsu pouted as he got up to move towards the head librarian. “But I guess I’ll do it this once, it’s too noisy in here so I was going to leave soon anyways…”

The sorcerer cautiously let the vampire get close remembering the baby looked uncomfortable around him earlier but all Ritsu did was lean over to poke Tsukasa’s chubby cheeks and began softly patting his red hair playfully.

“Grow up to be cute and tasty okay~?” And he vanished leaving the other three in the library with a hum.

Leo watched as Tsukasa turned towards him confused and smiled brightly. “It’s a good thing you met Rittsu while I was here. Who knows what he’ll do half-asleep.” The king ruffled the baby’s hair, jade eyes softening at the cute amethysts staring back at him.

“I like your new clothes Suo~ they look really good on you~♪”

Tsukasa blinked a few times and looked down. Ah. So he matched with Leo. That’s why the outfit looked familiar.

Nodding his head Leo brought his hands up to his hips and saluted the two librarians and baby in the middle of the doorway. “Alrighty, I’m gonna leave now. If I have time I’ll help clean up this place with you tomorrow. I don’t want to keep finding Obasan under bookshelves every time I’m back from a trip.”

Keito sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand. “I heard enough of that today, go find your knights before your guests harass them any longer.”

“Ah! I almost forgot that damn emperor was here!” the large wooden doors opened and Leo hurried towards them, “Goodnight Suo~, Keito, Obasan. Nighty-Knight wahahaha!”

The doors slammed shut and Keito stared at their king’s exit in disbelief. Tsukasa was humming a tune that sounded suspiciously familiar when the three of them headed up to the balcony where the philosophers study was.

“That joke was distasteful…”

“Really? I thought it was funny.”

“Shut up Aoba.”

“Ah~♪”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said I'd update before the Knights album came out? Well I just got my Valkyrie cd and realized wow, I'm really bad at keeping deadlines (Article was put on repeat as I wrote this ;w;)
> 
> No promises on when the next chapter comes out but as an apology I'll tell you it's a 'bonus' one so look forward to it~ *jazz hands* Plus my one year anniversary with enstars is today so I'm gonna go celebrate! Whoot whoot! (I can't believe I'm this invested..)
> 
> Leave me a comment or kudos if you liked what you read~ I'm glad that you guys enjoy this self-indulgent fic of mine so it motivates me to write even more!
> 
> Bye now! Hope to see you all sooooooon~☆


	7. Night Cruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ones who will crush it will be us, Knight Killers!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SAA HAJIMEYOU~!!

Red eyes darted nervously around the table.   

The walk towards the king’s ‘secret’ lair was a lot creepier then Nazuna remembered.

Leo’s study, which was usually dyed in brilliant blues and bright whites, was pitch black and completely different whenever he called for their private meetings. Objects that used to be harmless shadows on the smooth wooden table were ominous shapes that loomed in the corners of the room. Heavy curtains were drawn to keep out any sunlight or curious eyes and the only source of light came from the fireplace at the far end of the room.

Countless music scores scrawled on every surface of the wall during the day looked like scratches and claw marks in the dark making Nazuna clenched the table cloth. The letter for his summon tightly crumpled in his free hand. Staring at the lantern sitting in front of him did nothing but add to his anxiety and he gulped before meeting the gazes of the other three people in front of him.

 

And what a three they were.

“I thought you put us on hiatus Tsukinaga, why are you callin’ us now?”

“Don’t worry about it Kuro, I said I’ll explain it in the letter.” Crinkling paper and the sound of a pen scratching the sheet soon followed. “Seeing you guys put me in the mood to write so wait a minute- the countless melodies of operas are overflowing~☆”

“Hmm~♪ I didn’t think we were that interesting Tsukinaga-kun. It took a long time for me to get here so I hope that’s not the only reason you summoned us.”

“I never said you all were interesting. Where else would I get an ogre, a blockhead  and a rabbit all in the same room? Don’t complain if you’re going to say stupid things like that Tenshi, you’ll make me lose my inspiration.”

“Unnyaaa…”

Nazuna shrunk in his chair. Closing his eyes he hoped once he opened them again he’d be back in bed with a nice warm blanket and hot cup of milk. Not in the dimly lit room Leo refused to clean.

“Now then,” Leo clapped his hands, ignoring the quiet groans coming from the smaller blond and finishing the last line of notes with a hum. “Let me brief you all on why you’re here again.”

His legs rocked the chair he was sitting in back and forth, making Nazuna wince at the sound of wood scrapping against the floor. At least the little king’s voice was far more bearable then his seat. “I’ve been getting some complaints about weird things happening in the castle and decided we should go check them out.”

Kuro raised an eyebrow completely numb to the squeaking chair. “Why?”

“Because we’re night cruisers of course! I decided Knight Killers should come out of hiatus tonight!”

Eichi hummed, taking in the dead expressions of Nazuna and the head guard before shrugging. “So we still get to float down this river together?” His smile looked ominous in candlelight. “And here I thought you said that it was lame.”

“It still is.”

They all quietly stared at Eichi who had a dark expression on his face. The ceiling wood above them quaked before they resumed their meeting.

The orange haired man reached towards his left grabbing a stack of papers with ease. “While the war may be over the real battle’s just begun, if there are still any problems it’s up to us to solve them.”

“Then if it's about the turtle in the fountain I already ‘solved’ that problem.”  Kuro sunk even more into chair. Now that Nazuna looked at him the bags under his eyes were jarring and his sleeves were droopy and wet. As head guard he could probably never catch a break. “I couldn’t clean out all the flower petals so give me another day for that.”

Leo tilted his head but gave him a thumbs up despite his attention being on whatever he wrote earlier that day. “Not what I was thinking but good job Kuro.”

The small king stopped rocking his chair and stood up excitedly, papers fluttering to the ground like confetti. “And as much fun floating down a river sounds I’m not doing it alone. We’re talking about solving the ‘seven mysteries’ of our Lion’s castle!”

Nazuna wondered how sneaky he’ll have to be if he wanted to leave.

“The castle hasn’t been around that long Ousama-kun. But if you’re talking about mysteries then are you referring to things like a piano playing in the middle of the night, or maybe strange white figures walking through the halls?”

Maybe if he snuck under the table first and looped around the chair to the right...

An irritated look passed over Leo’s face. “Arrgghhh! Don’t say boring things like that blockhead! That’s a crime to us artists. There are other things that can happen besides those baby hauntings!”

No, even if he did do that he’ll have to get past the High Emperor. And he takes way to much joy in other people’s pain.

Eichi smiled. “What a shame. I _do_ love the classics...”

Nazuna gulped, plan already crumpled and thrown into the fire ten feet away. He had enough of spooky stuff back at the church. To think, he wasn’t even safe from ghosts here?

“L-Leo-chin, don’t joke around like that.” Nazuna stammered. “Those things don’t _actually_ happen, do they?”

Leo paused and tapped the pen he still had in his hand to his lips. “Hmm? Of course they do Nazu.”

The smile that stretched across Leo’s face made Nazuna freeze in his chair. “Haven’t you heard recently? The eerie singing from the rose garden, ghostly hands beckoning from the walls, paintings with eyes that follow you wherever you go, aaaaaall of it is real-“

“UNNYAAA!”

“There, there,” Kuro subconsciously reached over to pat the rabbit’s head comfortingly. “He’s playin’ with you. There are reasonable answers for those kinda things already.”

“R-rweally?”

“Awww, don’t ruin my fun Kuro.” Leo leaned against the table, the light from the candle making his eyes flicker between his normal green and iridescent yellow. “But yeah, Sena’s been sneaking off to the gazebo, Rittsu likes playing in the music room and Naru struts down the halls on a regular bases.”

He points to the taller blond on his right who was looking calm as ever. “Even the Emperor and I used to fool around with the piano.”

“We still do, but it’s been awhile since then so let’s do it again soon Tsukinaga-kun~♪”

Leo chuckled darkly, “After we finish our mission! I need to find some inspiration to finish this new song I’m working on. Now let’s go! The first one’s at sundown so we have about an hour till it’s over.”

“Already!?”

“Of course! We’ll miss it if we keep dawdling here!” Nazuna watched the orange haired king shoot off towards the door, only to stop as if he realized something.

“But first, we’ve got to look the part~☆!”

 

* * *

 

 

“I think Nazu would be the best one for this!” The orange haired king glanced behind him. His footsteps loud and jubilant like a dance he just made up.

Nazuna blinked innocently back at him. “Me?”

“Yup!”

He frowned.

The four of them were all in their old uniforms making Nazuna wonder if Leo kept everything in storage somewhere. It was cute when the orange haired king disappeared for a few minutes and showed up with a bundle of clothes threatening to topple over in his arms earlier. He never thought their king would be so sentimental. Or insane, since owning these were basically a liability but...

Looking down he was surprised the white gloves and black jacket handed him still fit him perfectly (so he hasn’t grown at all since then…), and Kuro managed to rearrange the clasps of the four corsages with ease (two millimeters from the collar no less.) The blue flower that originally adorned the ensemble was long gone, so a new one had to be found and promptly placed over their hearts.

It was nice to be able to use this uniform again 

They were standing in the middle of a hall facing west, watching the sun cast long dark shadows as it made its way over the horizon. ‘What was here that Leo considered a mystery?’ Nazuna looked around taking in the arched windows and checkered floor polished to unnerving perfection.

“Over here! Over here!” Leo waved him over to a display.

He was closer to the end of the hall where large glass cabinets rested against the walls. It was a little strange Leo had these included with the castles decor, but Nazuna remembered he was wearing something that should have been thrown away a long time ago so he shuffled over quickly.

Displayed inside the cabinet were various trinkets and ‘souvenirs’ from a few years back. As he walked towards it he passed a vase filled with wilted flowers and a few scattered flower petals. Mentally reminding himself to replace those later he leaned over the slightly taller king’s shoulder for a better view. If something was going to jump out at him then Nazuna’s taking Leo-chin with him.

Scare nonexistent, red eyes peered through the glass to look at whatever Leo was pointing at and saw a cute bear sitting on a red cushion. Whew, looks safe enough. And it must have been made by someone with a lot of time or talent because when he examined it closely the amount of details on it were lovely.

Beautiful red beads were used for its eyes and if he tilted his head just right its soft looking fur was golden in the remaining sunlight  It was in no way sloppy, sitting up straight on the pillow and looked like it could get up and start moving any time. Its entire being looked fun to hug.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with this…” Nazuna brought a hand up to his chin confused. There was nothing on the doll to him that seemed misplaced. Any discoloration or wear was nowhere to be found and the headpiece, along with the outfit it was wearing didn’t have a single fold out of place. “Other than the fact that Leo-chin has something like this here, I don’t find anything strange about it.”

“Ahhh, but look at your feet Nazu. Haven’t you noticed it yet?”

“My feet?”

The shorter blond looked down to see a few grains of sand in front of the case. Shifting his boots Nazuna watched as sand began to gather around them, glittering white on the dark navy tiles.

But what really caught his eye was the amount- and how it was increasing alarmingly.

“Wha- Huh??”

Amused Leo placed his hands on his hips proudly. “Wahaha! Mysterious, right? I heard that if you stand here at sun down sand will pour right at your feet. The sound of it rushing at your feet is a melody encased in glass!”

Eichi stared at the floor ignoring Leo’s boisterous laughter. “That looks like a trap…”

“Who cleans this up?” Kuro asked watching the sand around Nazuna begin to get higher around his ankles. “Nito watch out, it’ll take a while but I don’t want ya getting’ buried in that.”

“No, it’s okay Kuro-chin.” Nazuna shuffled his feet around, making patterns in the grains with ease.

“As creepy as it is, this is nothing compared to the ghosts back at the church.” He thought back to the squeaky doors and shaking windows and shook his head. “Plus I think it’s kind of pretty.” 

Eichi tilted his head towards him. “Really? I actually think this might be worse than ghosts. What if the sand is actually the ashes of a human that got buried in it and needs another person’s life to sustain it? Wouldn’t that make you its next prey-?”

“KURYO-CHIN GEWT ME AUOT OF HEARE!”

Leo bumped Eichi’s shoulder in warning, “Tenshi.”

“I couldn’t help it,” the taller blond chuckled to himself. “The last time we were all together I’ve never had the chance to talk with him.”

“With some of the things ya say I’m not surprised why…” Kuro sighed as he dusted the sand off Nazuna’s pants and shoes for him. Glancing down at his own feet he noticed tiny footprints that weren’t there before leading to the case. Did something just run past him?

The guard turned Nazuna around and pushed him towards Leo. If his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him he could’ve sworn he saw feet peeking out from behind the frame. Green eyes hidden behind the display stifled a laugh with porcelain hands.

‘I feel like I’ve seen that before…’

Nazuna was now fruitlessly complaining to Leo about something the guard didn’t catch earlier but it was better that the rabbit was distracted. Kuro didn’t want to mention how the bear’s head slowly turned and followed the four of them like a puppet on a string. ‘I don’t want Nito to have any nightmares for awhile…’

“Wahaha! Well since nothing else is happening let’s move on to the next one then~☆” The bear returned back to its normal position when Leo grabbed Nazuna by the arm and dragged him towards the door. Kuro rubbed his face already exhausted. “It shouldn’t be busy now so let’s go before it closes!”

“Leo-chin were you even lishening to me!?” 

 

* * *

 

 

‘So Keito moved this place again?’ Nazuna looked at the mountain of books that greeted them. They were standing in the entrance to the library with a few of Tsumugi’s familiars beginning to nest in their hair.

Brushing off a few ethereal feathers he vaguely remembered the last entrance was near the church and for the past two days near the doors to the kitchen. How the little king knows where it is every time should be a mystery in itself and Nazuna made a mental note to himself to find out.

As if they were scaling cliffs Nazuna followed the king and the other two Knight Killers through the messy stacks of books. Careful not to trip on any loose papers or feathers they didn’t stop until Leo came reached what seemed to be the center of the library.

Ruby eyes glossed over the large glass dome that served as the rooms ceiling. The sky was beginning to turn a lovely shade of twilight making the lamps in the room slowly flicker on one at a time. Bright stars slowly became visible as any remaining sunlight dimmed, making the shadows of the bookcases elongate and distort causing Nazuna grab Kuro’s sleeve subconsciously despite the glow coming from colored glass.

“Don’t tell me somethin’s causin’ trouble in here too?” Kuro narrowed his eyes, patting Nazuna’s head again reassuringly. “The boss spends a lot of time in here so if there somethin’s wrong I’ll have to take care of it y’see.”

“The only people who cause trouble in here are Rittsu and Oba-chan, but it’s still pretty early for them to be causing trouble so we shouldn’t get spooked anytime soon.”

“These birds say otherwise Leo-chin…” Nazuna mumbled before pulling himself away from Kuro, the two that made their home on his head were shuffling closer to each other. “It’s getting unusually cold in here too.”

“You can understand them Nazu!? As expected of our pseudo-fairy! 

Ignoring Leo plastering himself to Nazuna again Eichi quizzically looked towards the guard. “Is something wrong Kiryuu? You don’t look well.”

Kuro shook his head. The stuffed toy that watched them enter the library earlier was still fresh on his mind and he _really_ didn’t need the emperor making fun of him now. “Not really. But Tsukinaga brought us here for a mystery so if it’s somethin’ I can throw out and be done with I’ll do just that.”

Nazuna felt Kuro pull the fabric out of his hands before a strong gust of wind rushed past them, Tsumugi’s familiars taking off with it as well. The cold breeze disappeared up a ladder and the lamps flickered before returning back to normal.

“If that wass a ghost I’m gwetting out of here too.”

“Don’t worry Nito-kun, if that really was a ghost then maybe we can work together and catch it~♪” Eichi happily pointed to the rapier hanging at his side. “Wouldn’t it be fun to interrogate?”

“I’m not interrorgating anyshing.” Nazuna grumbled behind Kuro.

“That’s no fun, I had a plan ready for us and everything.”

Leo blinked once before looking at Eichi eyebrows raised. “That’s weird of you to be so confident. Does the blockhead know what it is?”

Eichi stifled a laugh before walking over to one of the bookcases. The glass sky above him dripped stars and petals of flowers brushed over his fingertips as they traced over spines.

“Can’t a ‘blockhead’ make jokes every now and then? I’ll have you know I’m an excellent listener. This has something to do with a few missing books right?”

Red eyes blinked confused, “What?”

“Yup, that’s right.” Leo had the decency to look impressed. He swept his cape back drawing Nazuna and Kuro’s attention to a book he was holding. Eichi sat himself down in a chair underneath a cluster of morning glories and glass beads, satisfied to watch the excitement from a comfortable spot. “I’m pretty loud but even I noticed the shifty things in here.” The little king hummed. “Kuro, Nazu, when that wind comes by again listen carefully to it.”

Nazuna breezed over the title in Leo’s hand and glanced back to Eichi who looked like he was having the time of his life. Give him a tea cup and it’ll look like he was at a party. 

A draft picked up and the smaller blond shivered when another gust of wind blew by. Remembering the advice Leo gave them Nazuna closed his eyes and stayed quiet, Kuro doing the same next to him. Concentrating as hard as he can he could hear the rustling of paper and something whiz by his ear. By the time he opened his eyes the book in Leo’s hands were gone Eichi was clapping.

“Leo-chin where-?” Nazuna turned around hoping to see where the book flew off to but saw nothing. The shadows behind him looked like they were laughing at him.

“It happened last week when I needed to find a book for a song I’m writing.” Leo wiped his hands on his pants before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I literally had it in my hands before all of a sudden _poof_! It was gone! Now tell me my ‘knight killers,’ what did that sound like?”

Now it was Kuro’s turn to look confused, “It was an arrow rushin’ by wasn’t it? Are we dealing with thieves? I don’t see how an archer could have gotten in here.”

“Hnnn. When you put it like that it sounds sooooo boring!” Nazuna watched Leo plop down in the chair that was currently occupied by Eichi making the taller blond visibly jump at the sudden weight. “Tenshi, help me. I’m dying because these two aren’t giving me any inspiration.” 

“But I’m the one that’s actually dying?” Eichi politely pointed out before adjusting himself enough to let the little king swing his legs over the arm of the chair and lean over the other. “And as a fellow Knight Killer I don’t think Kuro would let anyone steal from this library. Much less infiltrate it. It’s a very important place after all.”

All he received was a growl in response.

“I can agree with that,” the red headed guard nodded. “I would’ve noticed if someone snuck in y’see. Much less get by boss.”

“Then who’s stealing it if no one can get in?” Nazuna sank down to the floor and crossed his legs. “Do you think it’s an inside job then?”

“The only people in here are Oba-chan and Keito.” Leo huffed before closing his eyes, Eichi began to pat his head making him hum. “As for motive with the books…” his voice trailed off when the blond tried to comb through a knot in his hair and purred. 

‘He’s just like a cat.’ Nazuna rocked back and forth before closing his eyes again. If he remembered correctly there was something familiar about the book Leo was holding earlier, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Was it something popular with his kids?

“Who knows?” The Emperor shrugged. “The books in here are quite priceless and there are only so many people in this kingdom that could make objects vanish into thin air.”

“At least three…” Leo mumbled before swatting at Eichi’s hand in attempt to make him stop pulling his side tail out.

The last puppet show he did was _that_ story. So the answer has to be-

 

The room was beginning to feel a little colder now that the sun completely set. Lanterns were beginning to seem more like decoration then sources of light and the breeze that blew by wasn’t as harsh as the first few. It still nipped at Nazuna’s nose unpleasantly. They were in here for a while, and they didn’t have time to squander in the same spot all night.

Something fell on top of Nazuna’s head that made him glance up to the ceiling above. It was dotted with white flower petals and a script he could barely make out since it was too far away- like a love letter to the stars.

Yes, it _had_ be him. Nazuna looked up to meet crystal blue with determination. Realizing he knew the answer Eichi used his free hand to hide a devilish smirk when Leo opened his eyes to see what he was laughing at.

“It’s Keito/Keito-chin,” the two smaller ‘killers’ said at the same time.

“Who?” Kuro looked at the two confused before turning to the tall blond who was trying his best to hold in his laughter.

“Mizunohane…” Eichi began, shaking his legs trying to keep the blood in them moving earned him a growl from Leo, “…Must have realized someone found the books he so carefully hidden and decided to take action.”

He pulled out another book that looked identical to the one Leo had earlier and flipped through it casually. “It probably also didn’t help that I had my magician make a bunch of copies to hide around here too for visitors to find. What a shame.”

“So those were Keito-chin’s? He writes so well though!”

The orange haired king slipped off the emperor’s lap to sit on the ground grumpily. “Ugh, to think this cool mystery happened because a blockhead decided to play around with my philosopher. You’re banned from my library.”

“You know I’ll still find a way in. This is the same blockhead you summoned here you know? Or did you forget that already?”

“Boss never did like anyone readin’ his old stories…” Kuro mumbled to himself. “I thought he never finished them?”

Eichi grabbed the little king’s hand that was swatting his shoulder before turning back to Kuro. “He didn’t, but you should never let a little thing like that stop you.”

“I’m gonna to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Nazuna sighed in relief. “Well, at least we can just talk to Keito-chin about this later, let’s go before anything creepy happens for real in here.”

“Didn’t your librarian mention there were ghosts in here though?”

Oh please no.

“We’re here for mysteries, not ghosts Tenshi.” Leo side glanced to Nazuna who looked like he was waiting for a chance to bolt for the door. “Didn’t you know Nazu’s no good with them?”

“Don’t make me look like the spoil sport here Leo-chin! It’s a reasonable thing to be scared of!”

“I still don’t know what’s wrong with ghosts though?” Eichi tilted his head innocently. “Since this mystery was boring can I make one up myself? Every night when the library closes there will be laughter coming from behind the doors, and in the cracks between the bookcases you’ll see a shaggy-“ 

“This is rweally unnecessary so could juu not?”

“I’m only saying what happens when you see Tsumugi  though-”

Leo effectively shut him up with a pillow he found.

 

* * *

 

 

“Did somebody change the flowers while we were out?”

Leo stopped and spun around making the other two in front of him face the rabbit as well.

“The flowers…” Nazuna looked between their king and the vase he swore had dying flowers in it hosting bright red flowers. He was still a little jumpy after Eichi continued spitting out numerous ghost stories as they left the library and was determined to keep checking his surroundings for the rest of the night. “…Were they always like this?”

The other three moved towards the vase, the light of the moon barely helping them watch their step.

“I’m not too keen on flowers but I think your kid occasionally changes them out.” Kuro mused, “The small one with blue hair if I remember?”

“He should be in bed though…” Nazuna rubbed his hands nervously as Eichi stepped closer to touch the soft petals. The flower was blood red on his white gloves. “I was even going to change them myself tomorrow.”

“They should’ve been changed today, these flowers are at least a few days old.” He brushed a few blond strands behind his ear to peer at them better. “They’ve been out even before I got here maybe?”

“Hmm?” Leo hummed before looking at a few other vases down the hall. “That’s funny. I thought I got roses before you arrived here…”

“Yeah, I thought so too.” Kuro nodded. “My sister worked hard on arrangin’ those with Narukami y’see.”

The smaller blond tilted his head confused. “These are red chrysanthemums though? You can’t mistake them for roses.”

They all stare at them for a while. The should-be-dying flowers looked full of life and honestly were a little creepy in the empty hallway.

Eichi smiled, “I like them.”

That caught Leo’s attention. “I thought you were more of a rose type of guy?”

“I am.” The red petals fell from the emperor’s glove like liquid, staining the tiled floor beneath them. “But these fit me more don’t you think?”

Leo huffed, “Maybe a few years ago they did…” 

“That hurt my feelings ousama-kun.”

Kuro was digging through a closet while Nazuna looked on nervously between the king and the emperor.

“Don’t care. We’re not here to play the villains anymore. There are more important things we have to do.” Leo motioned to another door that leads outside. “We have to cut through the garden to get to our next destination and while I’m not exactly a fan of the place  I’m not going to let some creepy chrysanthe-something stop me from getting to our mysteries.”

“Give the hungry flower a little attention. There are only a few things it could eat after all.” Eichi lifted his arm and pointedly motioned towards the quarter sleeves of their jackets. “Anyways, I’m going to have to bundle up if we’re going out. You wouldn’t happen to have a blanket I could use Ousama-kun?”

“No, we freeze together.”

Kuro managed to hand him one anyways.

 

* * *

 

 

They weren’t freezing cold like they thought but as the night grew longer standing outside for long wasn’t the best idea any of them had.  

The place Leo led them to was a lake just beyond the flower garden their kingdom was proud of and it conveniently separated the castle from the dense forest nearby. They had to walk down a hill of damp grass to reach the edge of the lake. Rustling trees nearby broke through the quiet of the night.

There were a few flower petals floating along the surface of the water that Nazuna blew at and watch spin before turning around to see Kuro staring into the lake besides him.

“How long do you think it’ll take to clean these up?”

Nazuna laughed, reaching up to grab Kuro by the arm to sit next to him. “Relax, relax. This isn’t the fountain- let nature do its thing.”

“Well, I don’t want to be cleanin’ up any more flower petals after today y’see. Knowing Tsukinaga the next mystery could be a lake creature who likes dumpin’ flowers in here.” He stopped to clench and loosen his fist. “Let me teach it a lesson.” 

“I don’t think you need to worry about punching anything here Kuro-chin…” Nazuna nervously laughed before going back to playing with the water, removing his gloves he was delighted in feeling the cool water fall between his fingers. Looking down into the water something glittered and caught his eye.

“Nya?”

Eichi and Leo stood a bit further up the slope, the former holding a blanket around his shoulders looking up at the sky.

“How nostalgic… I haven’t been here in a long time.” Eichi’s voice trailed off. He was pulled out of his stupor when the little king next to him let out a growl.

“It’s only been a few years, it wasn’t that long.” Leo stared at a few small flowers underneath his boots. The sound of his boots crushing the grass beneath them were an unwelcomed bridge in his memory. Finger tips dizzily conducting a rondo in mezzo forte.

Taking a deep breath he brought his head up, the night wind blowing a few strands of orange hair back. “I didn’t think you’d remember this place.”

Pale blue eyes blinked slowly. “Well, it’s not so much the place but-”

“I was hoping we wouldn’t come back here again…” Spring green eyes solemnly met blue. “So much for that huh, _Eichi_?”

Eyes widening in surprise before he could respond the two were interrupted when Nazuna yelped and Eichi turned his head to see Kuro holding the rabbit by his collar, preventing him from falling into the water. 

“Oh. That looks dangerous.”

Eichi couldn’t say anything else because Leo was already starting to head down the slope to help the rabbit too. Their conversation postponed for later.

Nazuna was starting to catch his breath when the emperor and king rushed towards him to make sure he was alright. He was surprised to see  Eichi pause and take a few gulps of air himself, Leo hesitating to pat him on the back after leaving him and running down towards the rabbit after Kuro saved him.

“Geeze Nazu, last I checked rabbits don’t swim.” Green eyes stared at his soaping wet jacket and muddy boots.

“It was an accident.” The shorter blond flailed his arms towards the lake. “Plus I was jush shtartled. Nobody told me the lake was thish cweepy!”

“Is it?” Eichi paused to look at the water below them and his blinked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

He had no reflection.

None of them did.

“Tsukinaga, what’s with this place? This is beyond sand and disappearing books.” Kuro said resting his hands on his hips. “And I know magic when I see it.”

Leo noticed on the ground next to Nazuna was a key. A silver one that was all too familiar. “Nazu, did you find that in the lake?”

“Huh?” Nazuna hesitated before he turned and picked up the glittering object that caught his attention earlier. It was weird to find it in the water so he tried fishing it out thinking it belonged to someone and doing so led to him falling in and having Kuro save him. So it was Leo’s?

“Yes?”

“Pass it to me?” The orange haired king then started making his way to the water, kneeling in front of it quietly. “I forgot when I found out about this but all I know is that this lake likes to hide things.”

“Hide things?”

“Yup.” Leo waited for Nazuna to hand him the key. “Stars, moonlight, oaths…”

Nazuna watched Leo dip it into the water, “But it especially likes hiding silver things.”

He dropped the key into the lake causing ripples to form on the surface with a hum. The other three blinked and soon enough the water reflected the moon in its waves once the key hit the bottom. Four pairs of eyes that were missing stared right back at them.

“How greedy...” Nazuna heard Leo mumble to himself before standing up to smile goofily at them. It was short but when he looked carefully enough he thought he saw something escape through Leo’s carefully crafted expression. “When I was younger I snuck out here with a friend. I found out when you take silver in and out of this lake it’ll make your reflection disappear like before. I don’t know why it happens but I like to think this place doesn’t like it when light shines on it.”

“Leo-chin…”

“Should we head back then?” Kuro motioned towards Eichi who was trying to hide his shaking hands under the blanket. “It looks like Tenshouin is gonna catch a cold at this rate.”

Eichi shook his head, “Don’t worry. I won’t catch a cold from this. We can stay a little longer and-”

“Sure.” Leo cut him off and tucked his hands into his pocket. Nazuna watched him trot ahead of them with little enthusiasm. “We won’t be able to have any more fun with the emperor if he collapses on us. Let’s go back and warm ourselves~.”

 

On the way back to the castle he didn’t notice until now but Nazuna noted the sound of rustling leaves and smell of damp grass made their king’s  steps sound messy and heavier, even going in the opposite direction of the lake. He didn’t comment on it even when they made it back, but the silent look Kuro gave him only confirmed it when Leo was back in full swing and running through the halls like nothing was wrong.

‘At least Leo-chin’s happier...’ Nazuna slapped his own cheeks with determination. Even if Knight Killers were put on hiatus again, even if their king was unprecedented and weird, as long as the façade they put up can slowly be replaced with cheerful memories- Nazuna decided he’ll fight.

Kuro patted his back as if reconfirming his resolve.

“Let’s go Kuro-chin, we only have a few more to go.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Leo-chin! What’s our next mystery?”

Surprised by the sudden weight on his shoulders Leo almost toppled over when the blond rabbit hopped onto his back. “Wha- huh? Nazu? What’s wrong, did something possess you?”

Kuro didn’t so much hop as he walked over as well, lightly hitting the smaller king on the back so he wouldn’t fly out the window. “C’mon Tsukinaga, the nights not gettin’ any younger. We’re gonna be botherin’ people if we loiter any longer.”

Leo stared at the guard before pouting. Fixing his cape he managed to let Nazuna down without flinging him off completely. “We’re not bothering anyone. I’m the king after all!”

Rolling his eyes Nazuna settled for walking behind the green eyed king. Their king’s mood could really change at the drop of a dime, which was normal but now that he was more aware of his surroundings there has been something else on his mind. Ever since they got back he’s been hearing strange noises from above their heads. Maybe they were bats or something...

“But since you all are so eager,” Leo continued, his voice breaking through Nazuna’s train of thought. “I hate to disappoint but this one is a little boring compared to last one. It’s something that has been bothering everyone since the   been built so let’s hurry and go-ouch!”

Rubbing his nose Leo glared at whatever he walked into which was Eichi who was standing in front of a flight of stairs that spiraled upwards. “Hey Tenshi, don’t just stop all of a sudden! Do you wanna cause another knight accident?”

Eichi turned around to see Leo rubbing his nose and Nazuna spinning dizzily from walking into each other and raised an eyebrow. “Accident? But I thought us killers were intentional?”

“When he puts it like that he isn’t wrong,” Kuro shrugs while pulling back a growling Leo. “What caught your fancy Tenshouin?”

“Nothing much.” Eichi tilts his head towards the staircase. “I was just thinking this stairwell looks like an instrument.”

“An instrument?” Nazuna blinked a few of the tears he had in his eyes away and tried to see what the emperor was referring to.

He was surprised when he looked up to see he was referring to the staircase that looked pitch black. The longer he stared at it he realized it wasn’t all dark that it seemed, it was faint but every step was lit by the moonlight outside as it reached upwards. Smooth marble that looked grey in the dark glowed white and the bars that were used for handles casted shadows that looked like the keys of a piano.

Whoever planned the architecture of the castle really liked their music. Nazuna jumped when Eichi pulled him out of his stupor and motioned for him to come closer. “Nito-kun, could you do something for me?”

“Wh- what is it?” the rabbit was visibly nervous when the taller blond leaned over to whisper something in his ears. His face relaxed when Eichi pulled away and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Could you do that?”

“Sure, you can leave it to  _nii-chan_!” he proudly smiled.

Leo and Kuro watched confused as Nazuna proceeded to stretch his arms and his legs. Kneeling in front of the staircase the smaller blond hopped onto the first step with both his feet before confusing the two even more when he started to sing. “Do, Re, Mi~♪”

The three other knight killers watched as he continued up the steps, notes increasingly higher with every leap he made.

“Fa, So, La, Ti, Do~♪” 

Once he reached the top Nazuna let out a relieved sigh and stood up to stretch once more.

The top was surprisingly beautiful. It was still dark but at least the moonlight that bounced off the steps didn’t make him feel as alone. Tracing over some carvings on the wall next to him there was one that caught his eye. It was a star sitting in the middle of a circle that looked a little out of place but with everything that happened to him tonight it was a rather small misdemeanor.

He rested his hands on his hips and greeted the three of them at the bottom with a grin. “Is that all you wanted me to do?”

“That was good Nito-kun.” The orange haired king felt Eichi next to him and pushed him towards the stairs. “Your turn now ‘ousama’-kun.”

“Who me?” Leo furrowed his eyebrows when Eichi nodded. “I mean, I suppose I could find some inspiration with this but…”

Reluctantly he started to climb up the stairs normally when Eichi let out a frustrated huff from below him.

“That’s wrong Tsukinaga-kun, could you do it like Nito-kun did?”

Nazuna tried stifling a giggle when he saw Leo’s face turn bright red. It was cute to see the little king caught off guard for once. “You want me to _bunny hop_?”

The blue eyed emperor only smiled in return, “Pyon Pyon~♪. Don’t forget to sing too.”

Kuro had to hold back a smile too when the little king looked like he wanted to castrate Eichi. Seeing as the Emperor was dead set with his ‘request’ he sighed and silently vowed to write on Eichi’s face later when he is asleep.

“Agghh, fine!” Leo looked up to see where Nazuna was and did the same stretches he saw earlier. Sticking his tongue out towards Eichi he began to jump. “Do, Re, Mi…”

When he reached the top Leo frowned at the rabbit who was now full on laughing. “Do~♪. Was something supposed to happen, blockhead?”

“As amusing as that was, yes. Something _was_ supposed to happen.” Eichi brought a hand up to his chin in thought. “We still have one more try though. Kiryuu-kun, would you kindly?”

“My turn now?” Kuro reached up to scratch the back of his head. “Don’tcha think I’m gonna break these stairs if I do what Nito and Tsukinaga did? I’m not exactly _light_.”

“It’s worth a try.” Eichi waved his hand bashfully. “I can’t do it after all- I might fall over.”

“Then fall!” the orange haired king yelled back.

“Leo-chin, no!”

The red haired guard shrugged and kicked his legs back, “Okay then. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. Do~♪”

Nazuna felt himself jump when Kuro hopped up the first few steps. “Re~♪”

“Kuro-chin, you’re jumps are too heavy!”

“I can’t help it.”

“He’s right,” Leo agreed. “Maybe you ate too much meat today, cut back on it tomorrow.”

“What does eatin’ meat have to do with jumpin’?” Kuro reached the second to the last step and paused. “Fa… hmmm? Wait a minute.”

He looked down at Eichi who was staring up at them. His arms were crossed and he looked just as confused as he did. “Tenshouin, did I miscount?”

“Not that I know of,” the blond replied as he counted the steps again. “You should’ve end on ‘Do’ like the other two did.”

Nazuna blinked a few times. “Kuro-chin, try it again. Maybe we distracted you so you skipped a note.”

“Will do.” Kuro stood up and walked back down the stairs and started again.

“Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La…”

He was on the second to the last step and stopped again.

Nazuna furrowed his eyebrows. “Unnya… that _is_ really weird, what’s going on?”

“Hey blockhead! Do you know anything?”

Eichi closed his eyes in thought. “Well, I thought it would be interesting if we counted steps because I read if you go up and down stairs there would be one step less on the returning trip. Of course it has a reasonable explanation but something like this wasn’t what I expected.”

The blond began to go up the steps as well and counted them one by one.

“Do~♪. Yup, it worked for me. But I don’t understand why it doesn’t for Kiryuu-kun.”

“This is fweaking me out a wittle…” Nazuna sat back on knees nervously. His hands brushed over a dent in the wall that made him jump up. “How about we jush leave it and go to where Leo-chin wanted…”

“But we might be close to opening up a portal Nito-kun. Don’t you want to meet some new friends-?”

Kuro shook his head. “You have a really rotten personality don’tcha Tenshouin? Maybe they’ll gobble you up instead.”

“Fufufu, so I’ve been told. Did Keito tell you that?”

“Wahaha, he told me that too! I’m not helping you if they drag you in with them!”

“All of you have rotten personalities!” Nazuna screeched.

 

* * *

 

 

They eventually made it to the main hall after taking a good while convincing Nazuna the stairs won’t swallow him up into another world and apologized accordingly.

The familiar tapestries dyed in moonlight made them look more elegant at night. Despite the faint scrawls on the wall from Leo’s usual episodes it reminded Nazuna of one of those castles in numerous fairytales he read to his kids.

He watched as Leo skipped over towards one of the banners hanging from the rafters and checked behind them. Shaking his head he moved onto the next one and did the same.

“Leo-chin, what are you doing now-?” Nazuna stopped himself when he saw Leo pull one particularly loose banner away from the wall to reveal a tiny circle with a star in it. “Unnya! That’s it! That’s the same thing I saw at the top of the stairs! Why is there one here?”

“Really? Lemme see.” Kuro grabbed the banner and hooked it up so it wouldn’t fall back into place. Rubbing his head he tried to think where he saw it before. “This looks like one of those protection charms don’tcha think? I think Aoba showed me one in a book before…”

“Yup, I figured we could end the night with a little secret I wanted to share with you all.” Leo lifted his head smugly. “I don’t know if you noticed, but there are a few spots around the floor of castle that seem a bit loose. That’s because…”

He tapped hit white boot on the floor making the tile sink in. The spot where the star was slowly opened up revealing a dark hallway that was narrow enough for a few people to move around in.

“It’s actually a secret passage~☆!!”

Nazuna blinked before realizing his mouth was opened in shock. Of all the… “Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?”

The little king frowned, “I wanted to save the best thing for last. Now before you all complain let me tell you that it was hard to find a guy who could do this for me.”

The three of them watched as Leo began knocking on the ‘door’ with glee. “But lucky for me since I’m the king there was one magician who agreed. As long as l let him live here of course~ He has the cutest kid too, maybe him and Suo~ would become friends when they get older.”

“Would you happen to know the name of this magician?” Eichi asked curiously, watching Leo fawn over the cute fantasy happily. “I know it couldn’t have been mine so I’m honestly curious.”

“Nope, can’t tell you a thing.” Green eyes narrowed at crystal blue. “In fact, I shouldn’t even be telling you about this since you’re one from one of our neighboring kingdoms but, we have our little arrangement so…” 

Leo smiled, “He said it’d  be fine if you knew. He has a funny way with words so it’s not like I’m breaking any promises or anything. I already told all of my knights too, but I never see you guys and you’re all just as important to me as they are. That’s why I summoned all of you tonight.”

“Awww, Leo-chin!” Nazuna ran up to hug Leo. “Thank you! I’ll do my best so this castle will stay safe for all of us!”

Leo returned the hug laughing. “Wahaha I’m glad I can always count on you Nazu!”

“I hate to break up this nice moment,” Kuro started making red and green eyes look at him expectantly. “But it’s already long past midnight. We need to head back to bed if we wanna be rested for work today y’know.”

“Boo, Kuro’s no fun.” Leo stuck out his tongue. “But you’re right. I’m sure Tenshi is tired too, I’ve been dragging you all here and there all night without rest wasn’t I?”

Eichi was about to disagree until Leo let go of Nazuna to walk up to him and flick his forehead. “And don’t you dare say you’re fine. Let’s head back to my room so I can record all that happened tonight. It was really fun~☆”

“Good, then let’s not waste any time.” The head guard agreed.

 

* * *

 

 

They decided they should take the secret passage back to Leo’s study instead of the long hallways of the castle when Nazuna heard it.

The walls were rough, even under the gloves he had on and with the moon already beginning to descend leaving splotches of light creeping through the cracks at the bottom of the wall.

It was cold. The air was becoming chilly with the early morning rain and the blond almost thought he could see his breath. Right behind him was the emperor and he could vaguely hear the sound of fatigue escape his lips, eyelids heavy and trying their hardest to fight back sleep.

“Don’tya think it’d be better if we take a different route then this?” Right as he was about to say something Kuro’s voice broke through the silence making the orange haired king stop and turn around to look at him.

Although they agreed the secret passage would be a lot faster than going through the castle halls, it was a lot darker and a lot colder to be treading at night, especially when most of them were running on sleep from the previous night.

They were tired. Leo tapped his white boots on the damp floor, silently agreeing that it would be better for them to use the light from the torches outside then the dimly lit gems that hung over their heads.

Nazuna took a shuddering breath when they got out into the hall just a few more turns from Leo’s room when he heard it. 

 _Splat_. _Splat_. 

 

All four pairs of feet stopped in their tracks and turned towards each other.

“Did you hear that?” Nazuna asked as he looked around.

The hall was exactly how the king’s study was earlier that night. In the corner of the room shadows loomed dangerous, threatening to swallow any light that went near them mercilessly. And although the curtains were still wide open they looked ten feet taller then they usually did creating a disturbing pattern of light and dark on the floor between the windows.

“I did,” Eichi agreed as Kuro offered to carry him on his back. He rested his head on the guards shoulder and tiredly pointed behind them. “Didn’t it come from behind us?” 

 _Splat_. _Splat_. 

 

It was the sound of something wet being plastered to glass. A squelch that ran up Nazuna’s back like a shiver.

“Leo-chin.” He looked nervously towards the orange haired king. “Please tell me thish is another one of those mysteries we happened to mish?”

Leo actually had the decency to look confused when he tried to think of anything dealing with the area of the castle they were currently in.

“I don’t know Nazu. No one is usually up at this time save for Rittsu. Maybe he’s just playing a prank on us?” 

 _Splat_ … 

 

The noises stopped and Nazuna held his breath. His hands slowly reached behind him for his weapons behind him in defense. The hall was quiet save for the other’s breathing when he heard it.

It was a high pitch screech that assaulted their ears.

Covering his ears Nazuna grabbed the nearest thing to him, which was Leo and ran. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of Kuro following behind them, but that wasn’t the only thing he saw when they slowed down to check behind them.

“Is- Is this normal for a prank?” Nazuna desperately moved his gaze between Leo and then Eichi who was still wincing from the loud noise. “Because I don’t think horns, and wings belong on a vampire.”

Leo shook his head, sword already drawn when the flapping of wings got closer. The dark shape moving in the shadows continuously morphed and flickered in and out of itself.

“I was able to catch a bit of sparks from it, but it’s big. I don’t think we can fight it.”

 _Splat_. _Splat_. 

 

“It’s throwin’ stuff on the windows.” Kuro rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t want to be the next thing it throws on there too.”

“Oh, so Kiryuu-kun could think of some morbid things too?” the taller blond had to cover his smile.

Nazuna on the other hand was slumped on the floor sobbing. “I had enough, I just wanna go home!”

The screeching began again making the smaller blond light headed. Whatever it was, it wasn’t touching the floor, just barely hovering over the ground. Two sharp tails swinging behind it and four horns protruded from its head, spikes lined its back and its breathing was erratic. It turned towards them and began to rush forward.

“Waaah! I’ve never seen one of those before. Ah! My inspiration keeps flowing- I need to write this down immediately!”

“More like it’s your adrenaline flowing Tsukinaga. Now’s not the time to be scribbling.” Kuro scooped up both Nazuna and Leo in his arms. Running through the halls with Eichi on his back was one thing. But holding the other two Knight Killers really showed he wasn’t called an _oni_ for nothing.

“Maybe if you swing one of us like a club it’ll scare it away?” Eichi laughed. For someone who was having a hard time breathing earlier he had a lot of nerve making a joke now.

“Volunteer yourself first Tenshi,” Leo growled. “Don’t you have a blessed weapon? That should put it in it s place” The screeching high pitched noise that came from behind them made his mind dizzy. Nazuna was as pale as a ghost at this point.

Leaving nothing but a dust trail the four were out the halls back in the orange haired king’s study. Door promptly slammed shut and locked.

The ‘monster’ following them began to slow. The insistent flapping of leather wings came to a stop as the creature began to sink towards the floor.  It turned towards the window where the moon finally began to peek out from behind the clouds again revealing its true form.

‘ _Strawberry jam. Strawberry jam._ ’ Little hands plastered themselves to the window. Tiny black wings began to flap quickly again, doing their best not to move too much so the bloody red handprints won’t smear on the glass like gore.

“ _Aniki_ , let me help! I told you there's no way you’ll be able to carry ‘Tsuka’ by yourself!” An orange haired toddler flew behind the other bat carrying the baby. His arms were insistent on helping the other toddler and the frown on his face proved he was rather annoyed. Another little baby on a broom whizzed by from behind them, he began chasing the shadows away with stars that shimmered on the carpet below him in a game of tag making sure his pointy hat didn’t fly off with the stars.

“Look! Sora’s gonna win if we don’t work together! We’re gonna lose the bet if he’s faster!”

“Ehhhh? But you carry him too high,” the older bat replied pouting. “I thought Yuuta was the more responsible one, what if you dropped ‘Tsuka’ on the floor from that height? It’ll hurt, right ‘Tsuka’?”

The baby cooed in response. Laughing the little red head delightfully clapped his hands with strawberry jam on them before plastering them to the window again making trails of sticky red goop.

‘ _Strawberry jam. Strawberry jam_ ~”

 

* * *

 

 

“That is the last time we’re chasing any mysteries at night Tsukinaga.” Kuro groaned.

He was leaning against the door that they bolted shut while Eichi was sitting next to an unconscious Nazuna by the fireplace.

“I still thought it was rather fun,” the blue eyed man coughed. “Maybe we should go on a ghost hunt next?”

“We risk losing Nazu though.” Leo shuffled over with a bunch of blankets and pillows he had stored in a corner. “My heart’s still beating like crazy. Ahh, what a waste of inspiration. I’ll have to finish my song in here. There is no way we’ll be able to go out with that hanging around so let’s just stay here until dawn.”

“I agree.” The guard sighed, “No one would be crazy enough to go out there at this time anyways.”

The little king walked over to hand the red head a blanket before going over to the fireplace. “So much for the fearsome ‘Knight Killers,’ maybe I should send my actual Knights to fight it instead?”

“I’m sure Narukami’s face mask would scare it away.”

“Wahaha! That or maybe Sena would scold it to death for being annoying.”

“Be careful, that might actually work.” Eichi grinned.

“You’re right! I’ll tell him tomorrow then!”

Nazuna shivered in his sleep. “Unnya…”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Purple eyes were wide open.

Tsukasa was confused. This wasn’t his home. Tilting his head up he stared at the ceiling above him. He could hear his guardian softly breathing next to him. Izumi was still sleeping, his arm cradling the baby’s side protectively so he wouldn’t fall off the bed.

Oh, that’s right. They were staying at the castle right now. After he was reunited with his guardian the nice owl told Izumi where their room was and after dinner they went to bed. The blankets here were a lot larger and the pillows a lot fluffier, but it still was a far cry from how warm and comfy their bed back at home was. Plus there was no window for him to stick his face on nearby. 

Tsukasa yawned and was about to go back to sleep before he heard the skittering. Opening his eyes he stared back at the ceiling. The noises sounded like flapping. Thinner, faster wings flapping around that reminded him about some unpleasant things he once encountered in his life.

Bottom lip trembling he tried to put on a brave face. Izumi wasn’t awake so if it was a bug he would have to either quickly wake the knight up or duck under the blankets to hide. He could accomplish that much. He was a baby! And if none of those works then a baby's got to do what a baby’s got to do.

Cry.

A sudden thud came from the ceiling. Then another. It got quiet before there was a final _bang_ and a section of wood creeped open revealing a small boy (another baby?) with a large witch hat on his head. No buggy here.

“Hoho!” he cheered before climbing down the ceiling and landing on his feet in the middle of the room. On his back was a small broom fastened with a leather belt around his shoulders. Tiny jewels sparkled off of his clothes and with every move the blond made it was like lightning.

Comically brushing off his shorts the ‘baby’ waved his hands upwards to whoever else was up in the ceiling with him excitedly. “Hina~! Yuu~! The cost is cwear~♪”

Two other heads peaked over the edge of the hole, orange hair fell in front of their faces and Tsukasa had to blink twice to make sure he wasn’t seeing double. They looked exactly the same, even down to the black boots they wore. Bright green eyes darted around the room before resting right on him.

“Sora, someone’s still awake!”

“We’re going to get in trouble if they start crying.”

“Huhu! But Sora make sure teacher’s spell worked… Sora didn’t make a noise~!” The gems dangling from his clothes jingled when he toddled over to the bed but Izumi didn’t budge. Bracing himself with the blanket he stared right at Tsukasa voice cheerful and bright like the sun. “Teacher told Sora it’s rude to not say hello, so hello…!”

He paused seemingly racking his brain for a minute, “Tsu… Suu… Suka? Tsuka! Hello Tsuka~♪”

“There he goes again...” One of the orange haired toddlers sighed while the other bounced happily next to him. “Stop moving around so much _aniki_ , you’re going to make us fa-ahhhhh!”

Tsukasa sat up as he watched the two topple from the ceiling. Leathery thin wings sprouted from their backs desperately flapping to lessen their drop.

“Hoho~ Sora sees a ‘owwie’ color from Yuu~ and Hina~! Be careful, is what papa told Sora today, so Sora has been doing that aaallllll day~♪”

Hina? Tsukasa tilts his head confused. Yuu? He still couldn’t tell who this other baby was talking to. The two baby bats however groaned, hands pushing themselves up onto their knees until they were both kneeling on the floor.

“Ahhh! Look what you did _aniki_! You almost squished me!” the first bat said. He was holding his head that was forming a small lump. Tsukasa noted on one of the horns sticking out from his head there was a teal ribbon around one and drooled.  “What are you gonna do if my tail breaks?”

“Yuuta needs to calm down, look! It’s not like I bent it!” the second bat brushed off his younger brother with a smile. He had a hat with a pink ribbon leaving his own horns bare. Okay, Tsukasa nodded to himself maybe he could remember them by that. “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

Yuuta, or _Yuu_ scrunched his face, “Eww no. C’mon Sora, we need to go before that grown up over there wakes up. Let’s leave my stupid brother and play by ourselves.”

“Waaah! Don’t leave me alone~!”

“Hoho… But Sora wants to play with everyone!” The blond was still clenching the blanket Tsukasa was lying on and turned towards him. “Does Tsuka~ wanna play with us too~♪?”

“He can’t even walk.” Yuuta crossed his arms, “Much less talk. What can we even play with him?”

‘Hina’ stopped fake crying and looked grumpily at his brother. “How can you say that Yuuta!? Didn’t Rei teach us to be nice to _people_? What is his name Sora, you said _Tsuka_?”

“Haha~♪! Yes, Sora heard from papa that a new fwiend was visiting and his name is Tsuka~!” His bright sky blue eyes stared into Tsukasa’s own purple ones. “And if he can’t talk that’s okay. Sora can see his color! Do you still wanna play Tsuka~?”

Tsukasa looked back at Izumi who was still asleep and then at the other three children his age. He didn’t want to make Izumi mad, but this was the first time someone invited him to play with them. And he wasn’t going back to sleep after meeting someone so exciting.

Nodding his head he watched as a large smile grew on  Sora’s face.

“Hehe~ Sora likes Tsuka’s color right now. It’s the color of bright green apples!” He reached behind him and took the broom on his back and pointed it towards Tsukasa. “Hold on tight! Teacher always tells Sora to so he won’t fall. Owwies make a really sad color!”

The other two bats were already up in the air making their way to the door. Tsukasa took one final look back at Izumi and grabbed the handle his new friend was holding out to him. It sparkled and glowed and suddenly the red haired baby was floating off the ground.

“We can help carry him if you’re broom gets too tired Sora!” ‘Hina’ chimed from the doorway.

“Thank you Hina~!” Sora giggled as he helped Tsukasa sit comfortably behind him. “Now let’s go! Sora sees a happy color and wants to go over there~♪”

And they took off leaving a trail of stars behind them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a long time. I am so sorry. This was supposed to be for Halloween but uhh, look where we are now. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
> 
> My beta hounded me everyday since and they won't let me live this down so the next update should be sooner then this. Keyword, should.
> 
> Let me know if any of you are alive and reading this by leaving a kudos or comment. Actually, if you know what I based the mysteries off please feel free to respond. You don't have to but it'll be a fun little thing to do if your bored~
> 
> See yaaaah!!


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